Millions of rupees fine collected on fake LDA summons

LAHORE: A large number of property owners have paid millions of rupees over the past several years in the form of fines being collected from them by an organised mafia against fake judicial summons, The News has learnt.

The scam, recently unearthed by Lahore Development Authority (LDA), has jolted the top hierarchy and a high level inquiry was immediately initiated into the matter by the LDA director general. “This is a strange and serious issue,” the DG wrote on the initial report submitted to him before Eid holidays. LDA’s Director of Estate Management (DEM-II) received various complaints that summons are being issued to various people by the courts of LDA’s judicial magistrate regarding encroachment in schemes pertaining to his area.

As per the scam’s initial report prepared by Director of Estate Management (DEM-II) Usman Ghanni reads: “It is submitted that a number of people complained to the Director Estate Management-II about receiving of summons from judicial magistrate LDA regarding encroachment in schemes pertaining to Directorate of Estate Management-II. The encroachers are normally summoned by judicial magistrate LDA on complaints lodged by Estate Officers who are fully competent to lodge such complaints under section 33 and 34 of LDA Act 1975. The matter of issuance of summons was astonishing as Estate Officers has not lodged any complaints regarding encroachment before the magistrate during the last 4 to 5 years.”

After unearthing the scam, LDA’s Director of Estate Management (DEM-II) along with LDA’s Director Law met with Muhammad Atif Khan, Judicial Magistrate LDA at his office near Hamdard Chowk, Township. Usman Ghanni, in his report said: “The matter of issuance of summons on fake and fictitious complaints was taken up with him. He has shown various complaints lodged from Estate officers. The perusal and checking of said complaints revealed that not only the signatures of Estate officers affixed on those complaints are fake but dispatch numbers used were also bogus and cannot be verified from the record of Estate Branch.” “A video of two persons serving summon on a shop was also shown to the Judicial magistrate LDA in order to confirm whether these persons belong to his staff but surprisingly he didn’t recognized those persons,” the report said and revealed that the judicial magistrate during the course of discussion informed that he had finned millions of rupees to the encroachers on a monthly basis to be deposited in LDA treasury. “However, when telephonically contacted LDA’s Director Finance denied receiving of any such finned amounts,” the report disclosed.

“The same practice is being adopted regarding complaints of Commercialization Wing, LDA by the said mafia thereby depriving LDA of millions of rupees,” the report said and added that the above situation reveals that some organised mafia is working under hand and preparing bogus complaints on behalf of Estate officers by affixing their false signatures and even using fake dispatch numbers. Then summons are issued from the Judicial Magistrate LDA on the basis of these fake and fictitious complaints. This mafia then receives illegal money from people by blackmailing them. Each and every step from the preparation of bogus complaints to serving of summons and then receiving of fine amount seems to be managed by said mafia,” the report disclosed. LDA’s Director of Estate Management (DEM-II) requested DG LDA “to take up the matter with Session Judge as Judicial Magistrate is functioning independently in the hands of mafia without any confirmation, coordination and liaison with the officers of LDA who are actually responsible/competent to lodge such complaints.”

In his report, LDA’s Director of Estate Management (DEM-II) also asked the DG to hold a regular inquiry regarding the said issue under a senior officer so that mafia involved in such corrupt practices may be unearthed. The DG said he has constituted a three member inquiry committee to look into this matter and give its findings as well as recommendations. The inquiry committee is comprised of LDA’s Director of Estate Management (DEM-II) as Convener, Director Law LDA and Director Recovery LDA.