SAHIWAL: Police have booked Chaudhry Zahid Iqbal, an ex-parliamentarian of the PML-N and former chairman of the District Council, along with his manager, for “fraud” after the ruling party politician allegedly failed to pay the price for a 137-marla piece of land he had purchased in 2021. The case was registered under sections 420, 468, and 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) by Chchawatni Saddar police, on the complaint of Advocate Tariq Amin. As per police sources, Chaudhry Zahid bought a 137-marla piece of land, Khawat No 52, at 39/12-L village from Muhammad Amin, elder brother of the complainant, for a total agreed amount of Rs65 million. Under the agreement, Zahid and his manager Kashif paid Rs1.5 million in cash and a Rs3m cheque as token money to Amin on July 15, 2021. It was decided between the parties that the remaining amount would be paid in two installments of Rs29m and Rs32m within one Year. September 13, 2022, was set as the deadline for payment of the remaining amount. The complainant alleged that Zahid and his manager did not fulfill their promise and attempted to pressurise Amin through various political channels extend the deadline. The matter was also discussed in panchayats (local jury) but remained unresolved. Amin accused Kashif of committing a fraud by forging signatures of his brother, to show he had received Rs29m as the first installment. Despite being conveyed about the forging of signatures by his manager, Zahid neither addressed the complaint, nor clarified his position on the unpaid amount. In this context, Amin’s brother, advocate Tariq Amin, filed a case against Zahid. The sources say that the Punjab Forensic Science Laboratory has also declared signatures of Amin and his brother on the affidavit as fake. Attempts to reach Chaudhry Zahid for his comments by this scribe remained unsuccessful. Regional Anti-Terrorist Court Special Judge Ziaullah Khan handed down death sentence and a fine of Rs500,000 to a man for throwing acid on a mother of four, at Qaboola, Pakpattan tehsil, on April 25, 2024, who latter succumbed to her burns. As per police investigations, Shaukat would pester the victim, Rubina Bibi, wife of a labourer, Noor Hasan of Qaboola, asking her to develop relations with him, but she kept refusing. On April 25, Shaukat and his accomplice Ikram, both residents of Amjad Colony, intercepted Rubina and her sister Zafran Bibi and forcibly took them to a house in Sabir Town. The suspect then allegedly poured a bottle of acid on Rubina, who suffered critical burns on her face and other body parts. The injured woman was shifted to the Sahiwal Teaching Hospital, where doctors referred her to the Jinnah Hospital’s Burns Unit. She succumbed to her burns after over a month at the hospital. Qabola police had booked Shoukat and Ikram under sections 336-B, 34, and 302 of the PPC. The judge handed down death sentence and Rs500,000 fine to Shaukat and acquitted Ikram in the case.