–Shalimar Town AC conducts raid at Harbanspura Patwar Khana and catches a munshi working illegally
–Name of patwari missing from FIR lodged over the incident; sources say authorities are protecting him
LAHORE: Amid the government’s struggle to free patwar khanas from private assistants or munshis of patwaris, Shalimar Town Assistant Commissioner (AC) Mehdi Maloof, in a surprise raid, caught red-handed a person working illegally at the Harbanspura Patwar Khana.
While the AC lodged an FIR [First Information Report] against the person, the name of Patwari Muhammad Taj was tactfully omitted from the same. However, as per rules, the patwari is the custodian of the patwar khana and responsible for all activities taking place on its premises.
According to sources, the raid was not conducted for the elimination of munshi culture, but was specifically for Khurram Mughal – the alleged munshi spotted at the patwari’s office – who is said to be at odds with the AC.
While the AC said that Khurram was illegally working as a personal assistant to the patwari, the suspect said that he was present at the office only to get some land records checked.
Sources said that almost 78 patwar khanas fall under Shalimar Town where more than 200 private persons were still illegally working with patwaris as munshis, adding that Taj was facilitated by the AC despite several complaints against the former for being allegedly involved in corrupt practices. Sources also said that so many applications against Taj had been submitted with different authorities and he was found to be nominated in an Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) case.
Meanwhile, following the “successful raid”, a letter was written to the additional deputy commissioner by the Shalimar Town AC.
“It is submitted that after several complaints of extortion, today, the undersigned visited Harbanspura Patwar Khana and found that a private individual namely Khurram Mughal was working as munshi but the patwari did not own him as his assistant. Reportedly, Khurram Mughal is known to be working at the behest of rogue elements trying to influence Harbanspura Patwar Khana. Therefore, he has been arrested and shifted to the Ghaziabad Police Station. Further, Revenue Officer Fateh Garh Jameel Khan has been directed to immediately lodge an FIR against him in Ghaziabad Police Station,” stated the letter dated March 6.
“Moreover, it has also been decided to install CCTV Cameras in Harbanspura Patwar Khana to discourage such practices and control extortion and bribery,” the letter stated further.
When contacted, Khurram said that technically, a patwari is the custodian of a patwar khana and if he was working as a munshi, how could he work without the permission of the patwari.
“If I am a munshi working with the connivance of the patwari then why did the AC not nominate him in the FIR?” he asked.
Shalimar Town AC Mehdi Maloof told this scribe that he caught the person red-handed when he was illegally working with the patwari. “Almost six people, including a woman, were sitting in front of him and he was doing the job. My aim is to catch corrupt people at patwar khanas and this person was involved in extortion,” he said, confirming that he had lodged an FIR against Khurram, but had not nominated the patwari.
Lahore Deputy Commissioner (DC) Afzal Danish said that action should be taken against the patwari and his name should not be left out of the FIR in such a scenario. “Patwari is the official custodian of land records and it is his responsibility to maintain these records,” he added.
