–Darul Hikmat Trust School land allegedly being sold off by former director, accomplices as Board appears helpless in salvaging institute serving students from less privileged homes
–PTI MNA Shunila Ruth says illegal occupants are demanding money to vacate school, expresses helplessness in resolving issue
LAHORE: Amid the government’s claims of salvaging property from illegal occupants, a local land mafia has occupied Darul Hikmat (DuH), a Christian education centre, spread over 55 kanals of land in the Gullo Kot area of the provincial capital, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Owned by the Darul Hikmat Trust, the community school was established in 1986 and houses hostels for both boys and girl, besides multiple lawns as well as a football ground. It was converted into a trust property in 1996 to avoid any legal issues in future.
Sources privy to the land-grabbing incident informed Pakistan Today that a former DuH director, Kevin Khairullah, had taken over the property with the connivance of a father-son duo, namely Dilawaiz and Norez Dilawaiz.
According to DuH Board of Directors Chairman Dr Christy Munir, the board appointed Khairullah as the DuH director in October 2015, but later his masters’ degree turned out to be fake.
“He was also discovered to be involved in embezzlement of funds and was subsequently dismissed by the Board. An FIR [First Information Report] was registered against him in the police station concerned in February this year,” he added.
Sources said that soon after Khairullah was removed from the post, he broke into the DuH accounts office and allegedly stole important documents, including cheque books of the bank accounts operated by the institution.
Despite being dismissed from service, Khairullah forcibly entered the school, replaced the guards with his gunmen, forcefully took over the property and threw the management, including Principal Babar Sohail, out of the institute.
Khairullah went into hiding after his pre-arrest bail application was rejected and the administrative affairs of the institute were now being run by Norez and Dilawaiz, who were also selling away parts of land after forging documents of the property.
“They have taken over the administrative affairs of the DuH and are also involved in criminal activities on the site,” states an application recently submitted by Dr Munir to the Nishtar Police Station.
Meanwhile, several deserving students from nearby localities who were studying at the institution have started leaving the school amid the catastrophic situation that’s prevailing there.
Muhammad Asif, a DuH guard, informed this scribe that the school was being run by Norez. “On his [Norez’s] instructions, no one is allowed to enter the school’s premises.”
He also confirmed that the number of students seeking education at the trust school had drastically decreased ever since “the new administration had taken possession of the institute”.
Efforts were made to contact Norez and his father but they remained unavailable for comment.
A local of the area, Niamat Masih, said that the education centre was established for the Christian community and its occupation by the land mafia was ruining the future of the students.
Talking to Pakistan Today, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Shunila Ruth said that she aware of the issue but had failed to resolve it.
“I have met both the parties and discussed the matter with them. Norez and Dilawaiz are demanding money for handing over possession of what’s left of the school and land, however the Board is not willing to pay them anything,” she said.
