Demolishing house of lawyer: Notices issued to police, revenue officials

KARACHI: Districts and Sessions Judge, East, Khalid Hussain Shahani, on Thursday issued notices to Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) East, Karachi, Younis Dahiry, Mukhtiarkar Wazir Hussain, DSP Iqbal Shaikh of Karachi East, SHO Gulistan-e-Johar and others for demolishing the house of senior advocate Tufail Ahmad Mashori.

Mashori, through his lawyer President Karachi Bar Association Naeem Qureshi, prayed to the court for the registration of criminal case against the revenue and police officials for illegally demolishing his house under Section 22-A read with Section 25 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Sessions Judge East Shahani, after listening to the arguments, issued notices to proposed accused persons and fixed the matter for hearing on January 8, 2020 (today).

The Karachi Bar Association, while condemning the said incident, has moved a written complaint to the Inspector General Police (IGP), Sindh, for an impartial inquiry.

Mashori in his complaint has narrated that he is the lawful owner of his house situated at the ‘Architect and Engineering Employees Society’ and despite the submission of the original title documents with the revenue and police authorities, his house was demolished in collusion with the land grabbers.

Mashori claimed the area police are supporting a 'notorious landgrabber' involved in scores of criminal cases. With the help of the area police, his private gang engaged in bulldozing and demolishing leased properties of poor persons in the said society.

Mashori claimed that the Sindh High Court, vide its order of August 25, 2020, in a constitutional petition no D-795 of 1993, has passed directions for holding the election of the society through the administrator.

However, the land mafia with the support of the local administration was encroaching and demolishing the houses of poor persons.