Rawalpindi-The Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench on Monday rejected plea of an officer of land revenue department to quash a case registered against him and five of his colleagues for tempering ownership documents of a private housing scheme apparently in return of hefty bribe.

The LHC Rawalpindi Bench judge Justice Tariq Abbasi rejected the plea filed by Tehsildar Suhail Maqbool.

In the plea, filed through lawyer Afrasayab Advocate, the accused said that the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Rawalpindi had implicated him in a fake case of fraud and tempering on the complaint of the management of Top City-1 Housing Scheme, pleading that he was innocent. The applicant requested the court to order the ACE Rawalpindi officials to quash the case registered against him.

The Additional Prosecution General (APG) of ACE Rawalpindi Region, however, opposed the plea of the tehsildar and submitted that the anti-corruption department had lodged a case against Suhail and twelve others including five officials of the land revenue department only after thorough investigation and on the basis of substantial evidences.

The APG added that Tehsildar Suhail Maqbool with the help of five accomplices had tempered land ownership documents of Top City-1 after taking hefty bribe from civilians including Chaudhry Babar in a bid to provide them a chance to grab the land of the housing scheme illegally. The APG pleaded the bench to turn down the request of the accused.

After arguments from both sides, the bench dismissed the plea of Tehsildar Suhail Maqbool.

Meanwhile, judge of a special anti-corruption court adjourned hearing till December 6 in the bail petition of another accused Chaudhry Khalid Akbar involved in preparing a bogus power of attorney and presenting the same before a court and assistant commissioner Saddar for reviewing the land ownership document of Top City-1. The Special Anti-Corruption Court judge Pervaiz Ismail Joya heard the petition.

The ACE Rawalpindi investigators arrested Chaudhry Khalid Akbar from premises of the district courts and sent him to Adiala Jail for committing a fraud. A court official said that ACE investigation would bring the three accused, Chaudhry Babar, Naib Tehsildar Nahim Ullah and Gardawar Qazi Sajjad from Adiala Jail to the court today (Tuesday) for further proceeding against them. They said that the ACE might submit inquiry report before the judge during the hearing.

The ACE Rawalpindi, on complaint of director land and GM security of Top City-1 Col (R) Salim Awan, had registered a case under relevant sections of the law against six officials of the land revenue department and seven other local landlords for tempering land ownership documents of Top City-1 with the help of officials of the revenue department against hefty bribes, apparently to grab 540 kanals of precious land.

The accused from the revenue department were identified as Tehsildars Suhail Maqbool and Adnan Kiani, Naib Tehsildar Nahim Ullah, Gardawar Qazi Sajjad and two patwaris, Arshad Mehmood and Shahid Hanif, whereas Tahir Ayub, Iqbal Ayub, Chaudhry Baber (alleged ring leader of land grabbing gang), Chaudhry Khalid Akbar, Chaudhry Amjad, Chaudhry Nasir and Chaudhry Amir were among the civilian accused.

Investigators have arrested Naib Tehsildar Nahim Ullah, Gardawar Qazi Sajjad and Chaudhry Baber and sent them to Adiala Jail.