Rawalpindi  -   Police have launched an investigation against a gang of fraudsters-cum-land mafia for their alleged involvement in attempting to sale out 2500 kanals of precious land owned by a famous political family to government department through forged documents, informed sources on Saturday.

The land is located in Mouza Papeen Bhaal and Aswal on Chakbeli Khan Road worth billions of rupees as per market value, they said. The multi-billion scam by the land mafia came into light only after an assistant director of Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (Joint Venture Projects Wing) forwarded a letter number EOI (JVPs-B21-03)/25-HA dated 27 February 2024 to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rawalpindi titled, “Record/title verification of land proposed for housing/appartments scheme on (Approx) 2500 kanals at Mouza Papeen Bhaal and Aswal Chakbeli Road Tehsil and District Rawalpindi”. The letter, copy of which is also available with The Nation, also mentioned, “I am directed to state that M/s Tameer Estate and Contractor (Pvt) Limited has offered land measuring upto (Approx 2500) Kanals through Joint Venture (JV) proposal to Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA). The DC Rawalpindi had forwarded the letter to AC Saddar Division who directed the officers of Land Revenue Department to verify the said land.

An officer of Land Revenue Department had contacted the real owners of the land and sought verification the land sale agreement signed among him and his father and FGEHA.

The land owners had expressed their unawareness about any agreement and barred the officer of land revenue department from further proceedings in the land sale case and lodged a complaint with police to take action against fraudsters, sources added.

They said that the land lord namely Raja AH Zafar, a scion of famous political family, lodged a written complaint with the Police Station (PS) Civil Lines Station House Officer (SHO) seeking a legal action against the fraudsters, they said.

The investigators of Civil Lines police station have summoned the accused members of land mafia for questioning, the sources said.

According to the complaint, Raja Mujahid told the police that he and his father are lawful owner and possessor of a land measuring 2500 kanals in Mouza Bhaal and Papeen. He added that the two persons namely Muhammad Raffique Qadri and Asif Chaudhry (Director of M/s Tameer Estate and Constructor (Pvt) Limited) with the connivance of other accused Khadim Hussain, Muhammad Arif and Sohail Sadiq prepared a fake agreement for selling out their land to FGEHA.

He also alleged that the accused had applied fake signatures and thump impressions of him and his father, who is in United Kingdom (UK). He told the police that the gang leader Muhammad Raffique Qadri managed to obtain computerised Record Fard (record of right or ownership details) with the help of Nadeem Hussain and his brother Khadim Hussain without any permission or intimation of the applicant or his father.

He added that Muhammad Rafique Qadri and Asif Chaudhry filed the forged agreement in the office of FGEHA Islamabad presumably to gain undue benefits and unlawfully acquire the land owned by him and his father.

“The accused have attempted to illegally take possession of the land and made efforts to sell it without my consent,” he told the police. The applicant requested the police to initiate legal action against gang of five men involved in making attempts to grab and seal out his precious land through bogus and forged agreement. Police, while taking action, accepted the application and summoned the accused for questioning.

A senior police officer of the Civil Lines Police Station, when contacted, confirmed the development saying police are grilling the accused on complaint of the landlord in multi billion scam.