The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Punjab team sent to arrest Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah returned empty-handed from the Secretariat Police Station on Monday as they weren’t allowed to comply with the court’s orders.
ACE Punjab Director Syed Anwar Ali Shah, while speaking to the media, alleged that the police officers misbehaved with them and pushed them out of the police station.
Earlier, a fresh arrest warrant was issued for Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah by a judicial magistrate on Monday, with the police ordered to immediately arrest the minister in a land scam case and produce him before the court.
According to the details, the hearing was conducted by a special judicial magistrate of Rawalpindi Ghulam Akbar, who had also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Sanaullah at the request of ACE last week.
During today’s hearing, the anti-corruption of Punjab requested the court to declare Sanaullah as proclaimed offender. However, the court refused the plea and ordered them to arrest and produce him.
Read more: Rana Sana Ullah: won’t allow 20 people in Islamabad if govt decides
وزیر داخلہ راناثنااللہ کو گرفتار کرنے اینٹی کرپشن پنجاب کی ٹیم پوری تیاری کے ساتھ تھانہ سیکرٹریٹ پہنچ گئی pic.twitter.com/VuyzK66Qfs
— Muhammad Faizan Khan (@FaizanFayzi) October 10, 2022
Arrest of Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has been accused of purchasing two farmhouses at the Bismillah Housing Scheme in Kallar Kahar at a price lower than the scheduled rate. According to Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister for Anti-Corruption retired Brigadier Musaddiq Abbasi, Sanaullah had taken two plots as “bribe” from an “illegal housing society” — the Bismillah Housing Scheme — in Chakwal district.
Saturday, non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for Rana Sanaullah over his non-appearance in the anti-corruption inquiry. However, he was not arrested because officers at the Koshar police station of Islamabad refused to arrest Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, saying his residence is out of their jurisdiction.
Kohsar SHO refused to comply with the arrest warrant as it contained the interior minister’s Faisalabad address instead of any home or office that fell within the jurisdiction of his police station.
Read more: Non-bailable arrest warrant issued for Rana Sanaullah
With the warrant in hand, the ACE officials said they had permission from the court to arrest Rana Sanaullah, however, they returned empty-handed once again.