Two fake builders jailed for seven years

An accountability court on Wednesday convicted and awarded seven years in prison each to two fake builders who had taken millions of rupees from citizens in the name of the ‘Goth Abad Scheme’.

The corruption reference against Haroon Panjwani and Aleemuddin was filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The anti-corruption watchdog said the two men had disposed of very precious state lands in District West against huge sums by cheating people.

The two men cheated poor citizens on the one hand and caused a great financial loss to the national exchequer on the other, stated the NAB reference. The court announced a seven-year prison term for each of the fake builders, as well as imposed a fine of Rs20 million each on both the convicts.  

Suspects remanded

A man accused of attempting to rape a minor girl was remanded to the custody of the police for three days so the law enforcers could interrogate him.

The detained suspect, identified as Asim Asghar, was produced before the court of the Malir judicial magistrate, who accepted the request for granting the police three-day physical remand of the suspect so he could be interrogated. Asghar is accused of having caught an 11-year-old girl from the Jafar-e-Tayyar Cooperative Housing Society, a neighbourhood in Malir Town, and taking her to a vacant shop, where he attempted to rape the minor.

Separately, the West judicial magistrate granted physical remand of a suspected robber and killer, identified as Abdul Malik, to the police for five days. Malik, along with his absconding accomplices, is accused of robberies and snatching mobile phones from citizens in Orangi Town in 2016.