An anti-corruption court indicted on Tuesday 18 accused including the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) director in the Nasla Tower case, 14 months after the case was registered and a year since the building was razed to the ground on February 5, 2022.

A First Investigation Report (FIR) was registered against the officials involved in the approval of Karachi’s 15-storey building was registered in December 2021 following the directives of the Supreme Court (SC). The case was lodged under the charges of forgery and breach of responsibilities at the Ferozebad police station.

The court, while hearing the case pertaining to the demolition of the illegally constructed Nasla Tower building, summoned the investigation officials and witnesses on March 25.

The complaint stated that the Nasla Tower, built on 1,121 square yards, was allotted 780 square yards by SMCHS. However, the builder Abdul Qadir in collaboration with the officials of the SMCHS, SBCA, Master Plan Department, and other departments encroached on more land, erected the building, and sold apartments and commercial shops.

The case was registered on the directives of the SC, however, it took officials months to submit a challan in the case. It usually takes 14 days to submit a challan in such cases.

FIR

As per the copy of the FIR available with Aaj News, many departmental officials have been booked under sections 161 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect to an official act) and 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury); section 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save a person from punishment or property from forfeiture); 408 (criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent); 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property); 447 (punishment for criminal trespass); and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Officials involved

As reported by Aaj News citing sources, the map for Nasla Tower was approved by SBCA Deputy Director Safdar Magsi, with police also raiding his residence without being able to nab him.

Assistant Director Majid Magsi and Director Farhan Qaiser are among at least 28 officials are being investigated in connection with the case, sources added.

Police were also in the process of getting the call records of the officers concerned, sources added.

At the time of approval, Manzoor Qadir Kaka was the director general of SBCA, who was believed to be in Canada.

The deputy directors at that time, Nisar Ahmed and Sarfaraz Hasnain retired, while Safdar Magsi, who approved the map, was slated to retire next month.

Manzoor Qadir Kaka, meanwhile, was scheduled to retire in February, with sources claiming that he was the one managing the administration and activities of SBCA from Canada.

Sources add that efforts were being made to downplay the role of Safdar Magsi, while sources in the anti-corruption department state that certain political personalities were also being implicated with the widening of the scope of the investigation.

Arrests

Anti-Corruption authorities had arrested Director General (DG) Karachi Development Authority (KDA) Asif Memon over corruption charges.

The Anti-Corruption Karachi East Zone team in its latest raids arrested DG KDA Asif Memon, KDA’s deputy director Atif and Recoveries Additional Director Shiekh Fareed, sources said. A case has been lodged against all the accused.

The Anti-corruption officials said that despite being suspended, the arrested officials were involved in illegal land allotment.

According to the officials another KDA assistant director, Zubair, was also nominated as accused in the case but he fled before they could arrest him.

A FIR was lodged against the officers on the directives of Anti-corruption officials. Meanwhile, action had also been initiated against those officials who approved Nasla Tower’s construction plan.