ACE seeks advice in ETPB land transfer case

LAHORE
Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab, after completing investigations into alleged illegal transfer of 984 acre land of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) in the name of a private person in Depalpur, has sought legal advice from the Additional Chief Secretary whether they should lodge an FIR or not as FIA Lahore has already registered a case a couple of weeks back.
Sources privy to the developments told The News on Saturday the provincial watchdog has sought legal advice to avoid jeopardising the case as the matter could be complicated if two FIRs were registered in the same case.
The legal opinion has been sought after a three-member inquiry team of ACE Sahiwal region, comprising Deputy Director (Investigations), Deputy Director (Legal) and Circle Officer (CO) Okara, which completed the probe on September 7, 2015, recommended that an FIR should be lodged against district revenue officers of Okara including Muhammad Hussain, Patwari, Muhammad Akram, Kanongo, Najam Hafeez and Rana Riaz, Naib Tehsildars, Sohail Iqbal, Data Entry Operator and former Assistant Commissioner Depalpur Asif Rauf Khan who played their part in the alleged illegal transfer of the land in the name of a private person Munawar Hussain.
The inquiry team also recommended that the names of some 18 private persons who subsequently bought the land from Munawar should be included in the FIR.
They recommended that the role of the DCO and Additional Collector concerned should be defined during the course of investigations. “The opinion from Punjab’s Legal and Prosecution Departments would also be sought on the matter,” sources added.
A senior ACE official, seeking anonymity, said that they had not received any response to their request from quarters concerned.
We will proceed further only after seeking legal advice, he said, adding after getting permission ACE may seek the record from FIA as matter falls under their domain.
The Punjab government had initiated the probe soon after FIA Lahore registered an FIR 131/2015 on August 25, 2015, against the accused persons for allegedly illegally transferring the land, worth billion of rupees, in Rap Parshad in Depalpur.
On August 31, 2015, the chief minister had ordered Commissioner Sahiwal Azmat Majeed and Chairman Chief Minister Inspection Team (CMIT) Irfan Ali to hold an inquiry into the issue and submit a report.
On the recommendations of senior government officers, the CM ordered Director General ACE Punjab to hold an inquiry into the issue and fix all the accused persons who had allegedly committed the crime.
Munawar Hussain, son of Guru Mahant named Munur Das, ran the affairs of Mauza Parshad called Udassi Shrine Trust property till 1974. After partition, he converted to Islam and adopted Ghulam Rasool as his new name. He contracted marriage with Noor Bibi and they had a boy Munawar Hussain.
When Ghulam Rasool died in 1951, his widow filed a property claim but in 1954, the then Collector of Montgomery (now Sahiwal) declared the property as Trust Evacuee property.
The Udassi Shrine Trust was looking after the affairs of the land till 12-04-1969, when Custodian of the revenue formally transferred the property in favour of the trust.
After Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) was formed in 1975, the then chairman of the board declared property of Udassi Shrine Trust as ETPB’s property on April 7, 1977. Munawar and his mother Noor challenged the decision through a petition before the federal secretary, religious affairs, which was dismissed.
Munawar and Noor challenged the secretary’s decision in the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the court referred the matter back to the federal secretary.
The federal secretary referred the case to chairman ETPB to decide the case on merit impugning the order of the then chairman ETPB on April 7, 1977. The matter is still pending with the ETPB chairman.
In the meantime, revenue officers of Dipalpur allegedly fraudulently transferred the land in the name of Munawar Hussain in June 2014. The land was further sold out to some 18 other persons.