PESHAWAR: An aggrieved resident of Gulbahar area on Tuesday sought government`s help to retrieve his precious properties worth millions of rupees from land grabbers.

Speaking at a press conference, Malik Ayaz Awan alleged that a photojournalist and some land grabbers had occupied his ancestral properties, including some houses the area, with the connivance of police and officials of the revenue department. He alleged that Mohammad Iqbal, a photographer, had sold his properties from time to time despite having no legal documents of the respective properties.

Giving details, Mr Awan saidthathisgrandfatherhad four brothers who the divided the land among them at Ijazabad No-4 in the city. However, his father Malik Sarfaraz had purchasedthreekanals and Hve marlas in 1973 from one of his uncle (Sarfaraz`s uncle) while his mother (Awan`s mother) bought two kanals and five marlas from her father-in-law in 1979.

`Both my father and mother had purchased the land, and we have the legal documents, including proof of transfer letter,` he claimed.

Mr Awan accused the photographer of selling out his propertiestoinnuentialpeople of land mafia without showing them any original transfer letter of the properties. He said that he had also registered an FIR in Gulbahar police station in this regard, but the police were yet to arrest any of the accused. He alleged that the photographerhadbribed the police officials and misused the name of Peshawar Press Club to pressurise them.

Mr Awan appealed to the Peshawar High Court Chief Justice and Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to help retrieve his property from the land grabbers. He also demanded of the inspector general of police to take action against the police of ficials who supported the photographer.