80 Years, still no justice

Chiniot: A family in Chiniot is still waiting for justice in a theft case that was reportedly registered shortly after Pakistan came into being in 1947.

The case dates back nearly 80 years. According to the affected family, a large amount of gold silver expensive clothes and other valuables were stolen from their home on the night between August 14 and 15, 1947.

The family says the case was among the first cases registered in Chiniot after independence and was recorded as FIR No. 8.

According to the family, around 112 to 120 tolas of gold, silver items, Boski fabric and other expensive clothes were stolen.  The value of these items would be worth millions of rupees today.

Despite the passage of almost eight decades the stolen property has never been recovered and the family says there is still no clear record of what happened to the case.

To mark 80 years of waiting for justice the family held a unique protest. They had a cake made featuring the text of the old FIR and cut it to draw the attention of the authorities.

Family members say their elders spent years visiting police stations and courts in the hope of recovering their belongings.  However several generations have passed without any clear result.

A family member Sajid Ismail Dar, said that applications had also been submitted to senior Punjab Police officials in the past.  Some officials took notice of the matter but the case later went quiet again.

The family has now appealed to the Inspector General of Punjab Police and the Chief Minister of Punjab to review the decades old case investigate whether the stolen property can still be traced and provide justice to the family.