rawalpindi - Regional Police Officer (RPO) has directed the station house officer of police station Civil Line to arrest the grandson of Punjab Law Minister and produce him before investigators probing a land fraud case involving a deputy superintendent of police, official sources informed on Wednesday.

RPO Muhammad Fayyaz Dev has ordered SHO PS Civil Line to take Raja Shahnawaz alias Shani into custody and present him before the investigators after the accused had failed to respond to several summons sent to him by police for his alleged involvement in depriving a citizen of Rs 10 million by selling blocked files of Bahria Town, they said.

A citizen Navid Nafees, resident of Bahria Town, had lodged a complaint with RPO in July 2018 accusing DSP City Traffic Abrar Qureshi, his son Afaq Qureshi, Raja Shahnawaz alias Shani (grandson of Punjab Law Minister Raja Muhammad Basharat) and four others of depriving him of Rs 10 million by selling blocked files of private housings scheme in a fraudulent way.

RPO, while taking notice, had directed Inspector Abdul Jabbar, Incharge Complaint Cell, to hold inquiry into allegations and submit his detailed report with him, sources added.

Responding to police summons, DSP and two others appeared before investigators and recorded their statements that they had given some six files of plots situated in Bahria Town to Raja Shani with money to get them opened from the office of private housing society.

However, Raja Shani had sold these blocked files at the hands of a citizen. The pleaded they are not guilty, sources said.

Raja Shani, the grandson of law minister Raja Muhammad Basharat, had not appeared before police investigators to clarify his position in the case despite summoning several times. They said the complainant had approached the RPO again and told his ordeal. On this, RPO directed SHO PS Civil Line to arrest Raja Shani and produce him before investigators, sources said.

Inspector Abdul Jabbar, the investigation officer of the case, when contacted by The Nation, confirmed that RPO had directed SHO PS Civil Line to produce the accused Raja Shani before investigators at every cost. He said it was suggested during investigation that DSP, his son and Major (retd) Sohail are not guilty. He said the main focus of investigators is a stamp paper signed with complainant Navid Nafees. “We will ascertain the facts and register a case against the accused in name of whose the stamp paper was issued,” he said.

He said action would be taken against DSP also if he or any of his link found involved in the case. He said earlier PS Cantt officials had submitted an inquiry report with RPO while giving clean chits to accused and the RPO had rejected the inquiry report.