Court orders DIG to inquire into alleged Surjani Town police’s involvement in land grabbing

A sessions court has directed the West DIG to conduct an inquiry into allegations that the Surjani Town police facilitated land grabbing and forcibly dispossessed the owner of a house.

Additional Sessions Judge (West) Sohail Ahmed Mashori gave this direction on a petition filed by Mustafa seeking directives to the Surjani Town police to lodge an FIR against four suspects.

The judge noted that the petitioner's claims indicated the complicity of the Surjani Town police as the alleged perpetrators arrived at his house in a police van and subjected him to harassment, physical assault and unlawful dispossession.

Observing that the accusation of collusion between the law enforcement personnel and land grabbers was of a grave nature, he directed the West DIG to conduct an inquiry in order to ascertain the veracity of these allegations and determine whether police officials acted beyond their lawful authority and exhibited excessive use of power.

The petitioner stated that he bought a plot in Goth Saiful Muree, Surjani Town, for Rs800,000 and constructed a house there. He said a police van arrived outside his residence and eight to ten people, who were purportedly law enforcement personnel, forcibly entered his home, verbally and physically abused him and his family members, and evicted them from the premises. The petitioner said he was then taken away in the police van. However, unexpectedly, he was released on the main Super Highway en route to the Myanmar police station.

On returning home, he said he was dismayed to find all his family members sitting outside the house without shelter. Three days later, the petitioner said he received a message implying that if he withdrew his complaint, an alternative residence would be provided in a different locality.