Mansha ‘Bomb’ in police custody after surrendering at SC

–CJP refuses to meet suspected land grabber from Lahore as Mansha claims he’s being ‘victimised’ by political rivals

ISLAMABAD: Suspected land grabber, Malik Mansha Ali Khokhar, commonly known as Mansha ‘Bomb’ in Lahore — was taken into custody from the Supreme Court on Monday after he had gone there to “surrender himself”.

Wanted by police in over 80 criminal cases in the provincial capital, Mansha spent more than four to five hours in the SC premises hoping to meet Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar in person.

In a letter to the apex court, Mansha wrote that suo motu proceedings had been initiated against him but he was unable to appear before the SC on the date fixed as he was unaware of the proceedings. The letter added that Mansha was living at different address then the one mentioned on his CNIC.

However, the chief justice did not take the matter up and did not meet Mansha. The suspected land grabber was taken into custody by officials of the Secretariat Police Station.

In his letter, Mansha had said that he had found out about the proceedings through the media, adding that he was a “law abiding citizen” who would never think of not appearing before the court.

He added that he feared “discrimination” on the hands of the investigative agencies and asked the court for protection.

Earlier, Mansha told reporters that the Punjab police had added ‘Bomb’ to his name to malign him. He alleged that he was being victimized due to a political rivalry. Mansha said that he had hidden from the police so that he could appear before CJP, adding that he would wait for the top judge.

He added that he had come to the SC of his own accord so that he could surrender himself for arrest as per the law.

“I am a family man and I have not grabbed anyone’s land,” he said, denying being part of any land mafia. “I have inherited the properties.”

The suspected land grabber said that PML-N leaders Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif had been unfair to him and that he was a PTI supporter.

An ATC had earlier issued arrest warrants for Mansha and his three sons in a case registered by Johar Town police on charges of attacking a team of the Lahore Development Authority (LDA).

According to the FIR, Mansha and his sons Faisal, Tariq and Asim, were accused of attacking an LDA team during an anti-encroachment operation in Johar Town area.

The suspects neither appeared before the court nor joined police investigation.

On Oct 4, an investigating officer (IO) told the court that the suspects had gone underground since the Supreme Court ordered a crackdown on land grabbers in Johar Town.

The IO asked the court to issue warrants for the arrest of the suspects. The court accepted the request and issued warrants, directing the police to produce them on October 10.