Rawalpindi Court Sentences Four in Land Fraud Case

A recent court ruling in Rawalpindi has led to the sentencing of four individuals to a total of 96 years in prison and a fine of Rs 5.8 million. The case involved cheating, manipulation, and fraudulent ownership paper forgery against a prominent British Pakistani family.

The convicted individuals, including revenue officials Aurangzeb Patwari and Malik Muhammad Safdar, were found guilty of unlawfully occupying lands and using fraudulent means to forge ownership documents belonging to British Pakistani businessman Nisar Ahmad Afzal.

The fraud case, which began in November 2021, was exposed by Hamzah Afzal of Edgbaston in Birmingham. The scam involved officials from the land record of Revenue Estate who conspired to forge land records and transfer ownership to well-connected individuals.

An investigation uncovered tampering with land registry records, forged signatures, and unauthorized additions to original documents. The court determined that the mutation of the land was not properly verified, and names were fraudulently inserted.

Despite initial denials, the accused were found guilty of tampering with documents and fraudulently acquiring valuable land worth approximately three billion Rupees. The court handed down a total of 96 years in prison for various criminal offenses.

The judgment highlighted discrepancies in mutation entries and identified forged documents. The victim, Nisar Afzal, expressed relief at the verdict and emphasized the need to protect overseas Pakistanis from such injustices.

Nisar Afzal also mentioned a previous case of mortgage fraud against him, which was dropped due to insufficient evidence.

The court's ruling in Rawalpindi serves as a warning against fraudulent land practices and highlights the importance of upholding legal standards to protect individuals from such schemes.