Jauhar Town plaza collapse Case against five LDA officials, 12 others

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

LAHORE, Sept 25: An inquiry team probing a Jauhar Town plaza’s demolition/collapse that caused the death of four construction workers on Friday last has held five LDA officials and 12 others responsible.

The LDA also got registered a case on Sunday against its officials and 12 others, including two plaza owners and their eight unknown companions, officials told Dawn.

The inquiry team led by LDA’s additional director general Hafiz Ehsan had been instructed by Director General Abdul Jabbar Shaheen to submit its preliminary report within 24 hours. It found a gross negligence on the part of five officials and 12 others.

The officials against whom the LDA has got lodged a case with Jauhar Town police station for showing negligence while demolishing the plaza during an anti-encroachment drive included Saeed Akhtar (chief engineer), Malik Ahmad Nawaz (director planning), Abdul Razzaq (director electrical and mechanical engineering), Khalid Mehmood (director town planning) and Iqbal Javaid (deputy director planning).

As per recommendations of the inquiry team, the LDA administration has also involved Shahid Mahmood and Faizan Shahid (plaza owners) and their 10 unknown companions by nominating them in the case for constructing the building illegally. They said the LDA management being complainant of the case would follow the case right from the investigation to court
proceedings in order to get the accused punished under the law.

“The team has presented the preliminary inquiry report to the LDA management while a detailed report will be finalised after some time. However, the team has found the officials and some other people guilty in this case,” DG Abdul Jabbar Shaheen told this reporter.

He said as the Punjab government, LDA management and general public had expressed grief over this tragic incident, the LDA had fulfilled the promise it had made to the public by becoming a complainant in the case.

“We have registered a case under section 322, 447, 353 and 186 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against the five LDA officials and 12 others,” Muhammad Adeeb, an official of the Jauhar Town police station, told Dawn. He said the police investigation wing had started an investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, Jauhar Town police (investigation) sub-inspector Imtiaz Wahla said a team was carrying out raids to arrest all the nominated accused. “It seems that the officials and others nominated in the FIR have disappeared. But we are continuously raiding various localities to ensure their arrest on a priority basis,” Wahla said, hoping he would capture the accused till Monday (today) evening.

Besides additional DG (headquarters) Hafiz Ihsanul Haque, the LDA inquiry team comprised Wasa managaing director Dr Javed Iqbal, LDA director (HQ) Fawad Amir and director admin Khalid Pervaiz.