LAHORE: An organised mafia has been collecting fines over the past few years from a large number of property owners by using fake judicial summons, a local media outlet reported on Tuesday.
The massive scam was recently uncovered by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) after LDA Director of Estate Management (DEM-II) Usman Ghani received several complaints over the issue. An inquiry over the matter been initiated.
A report prepared by the LDA DEM-II said that “It is submitted that a number of people complained the the Director Estate Management-II about receiving summons from judicial magistrate LDA regarding encroachment in schemes pertaining to Directorate of Estate Management-II. The encroachments are normally summoned by judicial magistrate LDA on complaints lodged by the Estate Officers who are fully competent to lodge such complaints under section 33 and 34 of the LDA Act 1975. The matter of issuance of summons was astonishing as Estate Officers has not lodged any complaints regarding encroachment before the magistrate during the last 4 to 5 years.”
LDA’s director of estate management and director of law held a meeting with LDA Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Atif Khan. The magistrate showed various complaints which had fake signatures of the Estate officers, said the report.
“A video of the two persons serving summon on a shop was also shown to the judicial magistrate LDA in order to confirm whether these persons belong to his staff but surprisingly he didn’t recognise those persons, said the report, adding that according to the magistrate millions of rupees of fines had been imposed on a monthly basis.
LDA’s director of finance denied having received any of the said fines.
The report recommends the DG LDA “to take up the matter with sessions judge as judicial magistrate is functioning independently in the hands of mafia without any confirmation, coordination and liaison with the officers of LDA who are actually responsible/competent to lodge such complaints.”
A three-member inquiry committee has also been set up by the director general to investigate the issue and provide recommendations.
