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Tomb raiders sold up to 10 graves a day * Accountant, gravedigger, watchman behind Scam - LRE - 08-20-2008 12:31 PM
Tomb raiders sold up to 10 graves a day
* Accountant, gravedigger, watchman behind scam
* ‘New’ graves were sold for Rs 15,000 and up
By Faraz Khan
KARACHI: One can only imagine Mohammad Ahsan Khan’s anger when he discovered on Shab-e-Barat when he went to pay his respects at Sakhi Hasan Graveyard that in place of his father’s 1985 grave was a new one for a man named Haji Dildar. Following confessions from the culprits, the police are wondering how many more families have been affected.
The police arrested on Tuesday three of the graveyard’s employees - Khalid Hussain, an accountant, Riaz, a gravedigger and Yaar Mohammad, a watchman - on the charge of selling graves. The FIR No. 332/08 was registered at Shahra-e-Noor Jahan police station under Section 297 for dishonouring and interfering with a grave and insulting someone’s religious sentiment. The arrests are non-bailable and the punishment can include one year in jail. Another man believed to also be involved in the scam, Abdul Ghani, is absconding.
Complainant Mohammad Ahsan Khan’s father Mohammad Aleem Khan was a retired DSP from the police department. His grave was intact, according to Ahsan’s statement to the police, until a year ago.
The arrested men have reportedly confessed, according to the police. Khalid Hussain, who hails from Ali Pur had come Karachi on Ghani’s request and started working at the graveyard five years ago. Yaar Mohammad is his relative and came for the same purpose. The arrested men confessed that they have been involved in the “business” for many years by selling old graves as new.
“We exhume the remaining body parts when we see that the families don’t visit,” they reportedly confessed. “We put them in empty places and make new graves.” They sell the graves for about Rs 15,000 and above, depending on how rich they thought the family was. They sold eight to ten graves each day and were in cahoots with the people who sprinkle water on the graves. These people help change the tombstones.
On the same day, another complainant surfaced. Mohammad Hussain told the police that his father Dawar Hussain’s grave was intact till three months ago. He even paid them Rs 3,000 to look after it. But when he went on Shab-e-barat it wasn’t there.
The police have sealed the graveyard.
The Sakhi Hasan graveyard was sealed by the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) in 2003. North Nazimabad Town Nazim Ahsanullah Khan told Daily Times that not only this but also others, including the Paposh Nagar graveyard, were similarly sealed because they were full. “I know that for the last many years new graves are being made by washing out the old ones,” Khan confirmed. “But the citizens are the basic reason for it.” The town nazim said that even though people know that the graveyards are full, they still come to have their loved ones buried there.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C08%5C20%5Cstory_20-8-2008_pg12_1