ISLAMABAD - In a clear defiance of court orders, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) under its acting head Ghalib Ali Bandesha is reluctant to complete an inquiry against a powerful bureaucrat for an alleged fraud in the Capital Development Authority (CDA) amounting to Rs 150 million, The Nation has learnt.
A local court of Islamabad in its order announced on December 20, 2013 had directed the director general FIA to complete an inquiry within a period of 45 days against some CDA officials and private persons for allegedly getting transferred a piece of land fraudulently in the industrial area of the capital. After the passage of more than three and half months, FIA's Crime Circle Rawalpindi has not completed the inquiry apparently under the pressure of some powerful bureaucrats who wanted to get the matter hushed up, sources privy to the development informed.
Inspector FIA Abdur Rehman of Crime Circle Rawalpindi-Islamabad is holding the inquiry, which is not concluded yet despite clear orders of Additional Sessions Judge (West) Islamabad Shahrukh Arjumand that it should be completed within 45 days.
Interestingly, CDA's internal inquiry has held guilty its then Deputy Director Estate Management-II Syeda Shafaq Ali, a DMG officer, for misplacing files of the unit and FIA has yet to take the statement of the deputy director who is deputed now in PHA, sources in FIA further informed.
Malik Imran Ali and Malik Aurangzeb had filed an application on October 23, 2013 before the court of Shahrukh Arjumand through their counsel Dr Babar Awan that they went into an agreement with some private persons to sell a piece of land in the industrial area of the capital in 1998.
The unit was sold out for Rs 150 million and payment of only Rs 13.7 million was made and that too in instalments. The owners signed state deeds on receiving payment in instalments at different times and CDA consequently issued NOC regarding transfer of lease hold rights. The petitioners time and again contacted three persons in favour of whom the state deeds were executed to get the remaining amount but no positive response was received.
They stated in their application that later on it was learnt that the industrial unit had been transferred fraudulently in the name of different persons including the name of some persons who were not mentioned even in the NOC issued by the CDA. They requested the court that DG FIA should be directed for registration of a criminal case against private and official persons involved in the fraud.
FIA Crime Circle Rawalpindi in its written comments submitted with the court said that an inquiry on the application of petitioner had been launched which was in the process of completion.
Shiekh Farid Ahmed, then director security of CDA's Directorate of Security, in his fact-finding inquiry regarding missing files of the case concluded that keeping in view of the above, it has been proved that plot files (05 folders for plots Nos 52, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59 and 60) Industrial Area I-9/2 have been misplaced in the Estate Management-II Directorate. As per the statement of the dealing assistant, the files were handed over to Syeda Shafaq Ali, Deputy Director EM-II. "It has also been proved that the plots have been transferred and transfer letters have been issued after embossing and the transfer letters have been handed over to one Arif Ali Bhatti, a property dealer," says the findings of the inquiry.
The inquiry says, "Transfer letters bear signature of Syeda Shafaq Hashmi, Deputy Director EM-II. This has been testified and proved in the light of statement of the subordinate staff of EM-II Directorate."
The inquiry also says that the noting/preparation of transfer letters and its issuance has been made by Abid Aziz, senior assistant who is the main accused in this case and it can be assumed that he knows everything regarding misplacement of file.
The inquiry officer recommended that formal inquiry should be ordered by the chairman CDA in the matter and the director EM-II, deputy director EM-II and subordinate staff should be nominated as accused in the case and inquired.