The Crime Investigation
Agency (CIA), Cantt division, arrested two members of
a gang involved in providing fake weapon licences to criminals,
sources told Daily Times on Sunday, adding that one of
the arrested was a Punjab Education Department employee.
Sources said that the two
men had confessed to providing 50,000 licences to criminals,
terrorists and outlaws throughout Punjab. Police seized
thousands of fake licences, stamps and Punjab Home Department
no objections certificates (NOCs).
Sources said that on a
tip off, Masud Aziz, the deputy superintendent of police
(DSP) CIA Cantt, formed a police team to arrest the gang.
The team led by assistant sub-inspector Rana Akram uncovered
the gang’s whereabouts and on Sunday conducted a
raid at Shadhra and arrested two of the gang’s members
Hafiz Ghulam Mustafa, an employee of the Education Department
at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, and Khalid Mehmood, a
local Homeopathic doctor.
During interrogation, both
men revealed that they had been providing fake licences
for many years and that Rana Ibrar, the Weapon Dealers
Association president, headed their operation and provided
them weapons, police sources said. They also revealed
that Punjab government’s Weapons Branch employees
Waqar Ahmad, Muhammad Bilal and Mian Ilyas (on suspension)
were also involved in the operation, said police sources.
Sources said that both men revealed that the three Weapons
Branch employees were responsible for providing Punjab
Home Department NOCs. They said that Ahmad was an expert
at forging stamps and Mehmood was an expert at forging
signatures. They revealed that Waqar had taken the Weapons
Branch records home on Saturday night and had entered
the fake licence records in back dates.
Sources said the arrested
told police that they charged Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for
fake licences while weapon dealers charged a commission
of Rs 2,000 to 5,000 for every client they referred to
them. They also confessed to having provided 6,000 licences
to Afghan nationals who did not have any national identity
cards (NICs).
Sources said that the arrested
revealed that six weapon dealers including Khan Brothers
(Ravi Road), Javed (Ravi Road), FDS (Ravi Road), Hunter
(Chungi Amersiddhu) and SK (Multan Road) referred many
clients to them for fake licences.
Police sources said that
Shadhra police have registered a case against gang members
Hafiz Ghulam Mustafa, Dr Khalid Mehmood, Weapons Branch
employees Mian Ilyas, Waqar Khan and Bilal. They also
registered cases against Ibrar Khan (owner of Khan Brothers),
Yar Khan (Javed), Noor Zaib (FDS), Javed Bhatti (Hunter)
and Aurangzeb (SK).
