Court extends remand of alleged mastermind of China-cutting

KARACHI: An accountability court extended judicial remand of China-cutting mastermind Shakir Langra till January 10, ARY News reported.

Shakir Langra was produced in the court on Saturday. The accountability judge extended judicial remand of the accused till January 10.

According to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the accused, an employee of  KDA, sold more than 15 amenity plots in Karachi after converting them in China Cutting.

The court had earlier, declared Shakir Langra and Chunnu Mamoo- another character of the China Cutting scam- as proclaimed offenders.

The NAB had recently arrested Karachi Development Authority (KDA) official Mohammad Shakir alias Shakir Langra, for his alleged involvement in ‘China-cutting’.

According to a NAB spokesperson, Shakir, in his capacity as a deputy district officer for shifting, had allegedly accepted millions of rupees in return for making fake documents to create 281 residential plots on 14 amenity areas of Surjani Town by china-cutting.

These plots were later sold to private parties, causing a loss of Rs168 million to the national exchequer, he added.

Land grabbing and ‘China-cutting’ is a major issue in Karachi, and according to security officials it plays a major part in fueling the violence in the metropolis.

What is ‘china cutting’?

China cutting is basically an illegal way of carving out big amenity plots, community centres, government plots, parks or even cemeteries into smaller plots up to 100 yards or below each and sale them. For instance, carving 100, 80 or 60 yards plots from a single plot of 500 yards is called ‘china cutting.

Hundreds of amenity plots in Karachi’s different areas including North Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Korangi and Gulistan-e-Jauhar have been divided into smaller plots through china cutting.

A popular Bagh-e-Korangi once used to be a park for public, but it has now been converted into residential colony. The term china cutting is very popular among real estate developers and agents who often refer to these lands as “china plots” with each other.

‘China cutting’ also drew large public attention in recent days after Rangers mentioned this term in its report on Karachi crimes.

The report said, “Rs230 billion being is being generated annually from Karachi’s citizens through extortion, smuggling of Iranian diesel, water supply and land-grabbing (china cutting in particular).”