LHC seeks report from Punjab Police, ACE of cases registered against Parvez Elahi

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday summoned a detailed report from the police and the provincial anti-corruption watchdog of the cases registered against former Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi and the raid conducted at his Gulberg residence.

During a hearing today, Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar also issued notices to the inspector general of the Punjab Police and the director general Anti-Corruption Establishment.

The court will resume the hearing on May 8.

Elahi had asked the court to stop the police from arresting him which was rejected. The plea was filed by Elahi’s son Rasikh on behalf of his father against the late-night police raid at their house last week.

LHC’s rejection came hours after police conducted another operation at Elahi’s residence in Gujrat.

Kunjah House, the former CM's residence in Gujrat, was searched by the police for a brief period, with the anti-corruption department — which was involved in the Lahore raid — denying any involvement.

In the Friday night raid in Lahore, anti-corruption and police officials used an armoured vehicle to break open the main gate of the PTI president's Gulberg residence and arrested 19 people, mostly his employees, from the house.

The former chief minister was also booked under terror charges for "attacking" the police during the late-night raid.

The federal government had distanced itself from the police raid and held the provincial authorities for the move.

The police action came just hours before the crucial talks on elections between the PTI and the multi-party ruling alliance in the Centre. The opposition party had already warned that the negotiations could derail if the arrests and raids did not stop.

Moonis Elahi, the former CM's son, alleged that although the police did not have the search warrant to conduct the raid, he allowed them access to the premises.

Moonis informed the media that the Punjab Police had conducted a similar search on his father's residence in the past.

Sources told Geo News that law enforcers from six to seven police stations had cordoned off the area before the raid.

However, the police officers entered the residence by scaling the walls, claiming that their repeated door knocks went unanswered which forced them to do so.