BAHAWALPUR: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claims to have unearthed a number of illegal power connections at private residences in a number of unapproved housing colonies in Bahawalnagar, Minchinadabad and McLeod Ganj of Bahawalnagar district.

An FIA official told Dawn on Wednesday they received a tip that electricity connections in unapproved housing colonies had been provided with the alleged connivance of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) officials.

The FIA teams conducted raidsand reportedly removed illegal power meters installed at several houses.

The FIA official said complaints against the Mepco official involved in the scandal would be sent to the higher authorities for action and registration of cases against them.

Mepco officials said a list of all illegal connections was being drafted to take action against those officials who provided these connections and meters to certain domestic consumers.

LAND GRABBERS: Divisional Commissioner Raja Jahangir Anwar has ordered an inquiry against a group of alleged land grabbers who occupied state land worth millions of rupees in Cholistan.

The inquiry has been ordered on the application of Humayun Shah Bokhari, and the additional commissioner (consolidation) has been appointed as the inquiry officer.

Mr Bokhari in his complaint to the commissioner alleged that agroup of land grabbers had over the years managed to get allotment of hundreds of kanals of state land worth millions of rupees in village 79/DNB in Yazman tehsil of Bahawalpur district on the basis of forged documents, including names of dead individuals.

The applicant claimed that the grabbers` identity cards, signatures, thumb impressions were all fictitious and a thorough inquiry and forensic examination would prove them fake. He prayed that in case the inquiry proved their fraud, the alleged land grabbers along with the government officials facilitating them should be taken to task.

The district, divisional and Cholistan Development Authority (CDA) had several times launched operations against land grabbers and retrieved state land from their possession. But such complaints cropped up again due to the alleged connivance of official elements with criminals.