GUJRAT: Hundreds of fake licences of firearms had allegedly been issued by the officials of the deputy commissioner office`s licencing branch during the past few months.

Taking notice of the scam, the district administration has sealed the licensing branch and the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) of local police have arrested Muhammad Atif, the concerned clerk.

It is learnt that the local officers of police and the administration had been informed by some quarters that the staff of the DC office`s firearm licencing branch had been involved in issuance of hundreds of fake licences and making bogus entries in the of ficial record.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali ordered sealing of the licencing branchandsuspendedthe clerk, besides launching a probe into the matter.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) Syed Musa Raza has been appointed inquiry, who along with other seniorof ficials, has taken the relevant record into custody and sealed the branch. He also conducted initial inquiry into the matter by checking the official registers of the licencing branch the other day.

Mr Raza told Dawn that the initial inquiry found issuance of hundreds of fake hcences through bogus entries into the of ficial registers.

He, however, said the matter was still under investigation and the inquiry report would be submitted to the DC.

The administration has also referred the matter to the Anti Corruption Establishment (ACE) for registration of a case and further legal action against the suspect.

In 2010, a similar scam of issuance of at least 13,000 fake licences of firearms had surfaced in the same branch of the DC office. A probe had declared that the clerical staff concerned had caused a loss of at least Rs70 million to the exchequer. The main culprit involved in that scam fled abroad since the ACE had registered a case against him and other suspects.