Court issues damning indictment of top govt, police officials in land grab case.

KARACHI -- A sessions court has observed that chiefs of the Sindh Board of Revenue, deputy commissioner-West, Karachi police chief and their subordinate officers and officials were not only wilfully negligent, but also getting their hands dirty in facilitating illegal occupation of state land in the district.

The court order came against the backdrop of the killing of Manghopir Mukhtiarkar Ejaz Chandio, who was shot dead during an anti-encroachment operation in Surjani Town, district West, on Monday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (West) Zulfiqar Ali, while hearing a complaint filed by a citizen about illegal occupation of a 120-square-yard plot in Hassan Brohi Goth, found out from a report filed on Nov 14 by Sindh Goth Abad Scheme's Mukhtiarkar Yar Muhammad Mari that the plot was a state property which neither belonged to complainant Muhammad Riaz, nor respondent Sharafat Ali Kiyani.

The court added that during the hearing of the case it had become quite obvious that this government-owned property was not being taken care of and the persons to blame were, without a fringe of a doubt, were the deputy commissioner and mukhtiarkar along with their subordinates.

Officers ordered to demarcate all usurped plots in separate record

'It is a sorry state of affairs in District West where there are many such government lands which fall prey to land grabbers/ illegally procured lands become the breeding ground for unlawful buying and selling practices, thus not only ripping off innocent persons but also contributing to a spike in registration of civil and criminal cases, as well as those of murder,' remarked the judge.

The judge went on to state, 'I am aware of the fact that it is the learned chairman board of revenue, secretary land utilization department government of Sindh, commissioner Karachi, member gothabad board of revenue Sindh, member land utilization department, director anti-encroachment force board of revenue Sindh, deputy commissioner west, assistant commissioner-Manghopir, mukhtiarkar gothabad, area tapedar and security forces including additional inspector general of police Karachi, DIG West, SSP West, and SHOs who are not only wilfully negligent, but also keep getting their hands dirty in facilitating illegal occupation of these lands, are not stranger to the buying and...