Court rejects NAB’s request to release alleged land grabber through plea bargain

An accountability court on Wednesday rejected a National Accountability Bureau’s request to release a land scam suspect through plea bargain.

The administrative judge of the accountability courts extended the judicial remand of Haji Adam Jokhio till December 24. The investigation officer had moved a report in the court, stating that the suspect had reached an agreement with the bureau and was willing to return the embezzled amount.

The report added that Jokhio was willing to return plots to the affected people. The NAB Karachi had arrested him in November. The man had allegedly cheated public at large by defrauding around 1,100 allottees of their rightful ownership by booking plots in their names and receiving huge sums in 1992. He had been defrauding the allottees for the last 27 years during which the value of land had increased manifold, according to NAB.

The project launched under the name of Gulshan-e-Dozan suffered illegalities on various counts, while the land of 70 acres was also illegal. The value of the land is approximately Rs3.5 billion.

Jokhio being part of a land mafia had been operating for decades, usurping government lands and cheating public at large, said the NAB spokesman. The land booked for various allottees was further sold by the accused to another builder where another project was being launched, instead of handing over the plots to the allottees.