ACE recovers fraudulent payments to landowners.

TOBA TEK SINGH -- The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has recovered Rs1.2 million from a Toba Tek Singh assistant commissioner's (AC's) office computer clerk in a fraud case of more than Rs2.5 million in which deputy commissioner's (DC's) office head clerk Abdul Rehman and two land owners were also involved.

ACE inspector Rana Mazharul Haq told Dawn on Saturday that presently posted as additional DC at Chiniot Musawar Ahmad Niazi was Toba Tek Singh AC from Aug 29, 2018, to April 23, 2019, and he had also the charge of land acquisition collector for awarding compensation to the farmers whose land was acquired for Peshawar-Karachi Motorway M-3's section of Lahore-Abdul Hakeem by the National highway Authority (NHA).

AC Niazi got registered a first information report (FIR) with Toba Tek Singh city police on Oct 24, 2019 that after his transfer, his successor AC Rizwanul Haq apprised him on telephone two land owners Muhammad Ghulam Qamar, of chak 263-GB, and Safdar Ali, of Chak 264-GB, had received cheques worth Rs1.15 million and Rs1 million even though they were not entitled for the payment as their land had never been acquired by the NHA.

Complainant Niazi added in the FIR that he inspected the vouchers and cheques and found that his signatures were fake as he was transferred from Toba Tek Singh on Apr 23, 2019 while his fake signatures were done on the advice on May 4, 2019 and vouchers and cheques were also fabricated...