Lahore: Former LDA officer jailed for fraud

[Naveed Yaseen]

An accountability court on Monday awarded Rai Babar Ali Kharl, former LDA assistant estate officer, seven-year jail with Rs. 3.94 million fine and five-year jail with Rs 3.4 million fine in two references for selling LDA property through forgery and fraud.

In the first reference, Rai Babar, during his posting as the LDA estate officer, sold 15 LDA plots through forgery and fake documentation. While in the second reference, he managed to prepare bogus modified exchange deed for 24 kanals and five marlas of LDA property in the Faisal Town.

He received illegal gains of two-kanal plot as bribe as a result of bogus exchange and sold plots to different persons.

Other accused involved in the crime have already returned the looted money through plea bargain and were declared convicted by the accountability court.

The investigation into both cases was authorized by NAB against above the accused in two different complaints. Rai Babar Ali Kharl, the main accused, was arrested during investigation and the references were filed in the Accountability Court in 2007 after collection of incriminating evidence. The cases remained under trial for one and a half years which were decided on November 23.

In case of default, the convict will have to undergo three years more imprisonment.

Mother gets girl’s custody: The district and sessions court on Monday handed over a girl baby’s custody to her mother after getting her recovered from her father’s custody.

In her habeas corpus petition, Asma Bibi, a resident of Gulshan Ravi, had alleged that her husband Muhammad Ilyas had been keeping her one-year-old daughter Irha in his illegal custody for the last few days.

She stated that her husband kicked her out of his house and snatched her daughter from her.

The court through a notice directed Ilyas to produce the girl in the court. Later, Ilyas produced the girl in court where the court handed over her custody to her mother.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=210179