SADIQABAD-Land grabbers, with the alleged connivance of police, have been involved in the occupation and sale of state land; and they also threaten poor people to implicate them in fake cases if they pursue legal action against them.
It has been learnt that the land grabbers have occupied several state lands; and they have strengthened their occupation on these lands by placing barriers there, blocking people's way to their homes.
It is to be noted that the land grabbers have been issued several warnings by the administration and police high-ups i.e. Assistant Commissioner, District Police Officer, etc. to vacate the lands, and clear people's way to their homes; but the land grabbers have always lent a deaf ear to these warnings.
Moreover, Rahim Yar Khan deputy commissioner and local members of Provincial Assembly have also taken notice of land grabbing in the area, and they have asked the land grabbers to vacate the state lands but to no avail.
The people, victim of the land grabbers' brutality, staged a protest outside ASP office against the Saddr police personnel whom they accused of allegedly siding with the accused. They said that the land grabbers had got a case registered against a 70-year-old retired armyman who voiced against their illegal activities.
The protesting people including Sharif, Abdul Jabbar, Haji Mehmood Ahmed, Sultan Ahmed, Rashid, Arshad, Ahsan Ali, Kashif, Bashir Ahmed, Nazir, and Iftikhar Ahmed identified the land grabbers as Haider Ali, Yaqub, Mehmood Ahmed, Tanveer Ahmed, Hashim, Abdur Rauf, Zubair, Master Riaz, and Hashim. They accused them of occupying and selling state lands with the collusion of Revenue Officials. "And if anyone voice against them, they implicate him false cases," they said.
M Sharif lamented that his 70 years old brother had been in police lockup for four days; and the police, under the pressure of land grabbers, were demanding bribe for his release on bail. He maintained that police's negligence to the grave issue knew no bounds. People demanded justice and quick action against the accused from the authorities concerned.