Conman defrauds family of over Rs300,000 on SC premises

ISLAMABAD: A con defrauded the family of an accused of over Rs300,000 on the Supreme Court premises and escaped.

According to an application filed with the Secretariat police station, applicant Hamza Mashaal informed the police that the appeal of his father Khadim Masih was pending with the Supreme Court against the Lahore High Court verdict, which was not yet fixed for hearing.

He said another accused Muhammad Mansha, who was with his father in the Faisalabad jail, knew about

the whole case. When the accused came out of jail, he contacted Mashaal and said he had made arrangements for his father’s bail and asked him to reach the Supreme Court, Islamabad Registry.

“When we reached the Supreme Court, Mansha told us that a surety bond had to be deposited for his father’s bail. He took Rs365,000 and asked me to go to the Aabpara market for taking some photographs.”

The applicant said when he returned to the Supreme Court, the accused was not there. When he contacted the accused, he told them that he will meet him in Faisalabad and later switched off his cellphone. When Hamza contacted the registry, he was told that the appeal of his father was yet to be fixed.

The applicant has requested the police to proceed against the accused in accordance with the law.

It is pertinent to mention that the FIA had registered a fraud case against the applicant’s father Khadim Masih and lodged an FIR against him. The trial court awarded Khadim Masih seven-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs2. 7 million. Later, the accused approached the Lahore High Court against his conviction but it dismissed his appeal.