In a dramatic turn of events, Iqbal Sanghera, the former Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of Sialkot and a key suspect in a major corruption case, escaped from the custody of Rawalpindi Police. The suspect reportedly fled on November 13, while an FIR was filed two days later.
According to the FIR, ASI Zafar Iqbal remained in contact with the fugitive’s brother, who ultimately succeeded in helping Sanghera escape. The accused had been brought from Lahore to an anti-corruption court in Rawalpindi; however, on the return journey, his brother and an accomplice managed to whisk him away from a motorway rest area.
The FIR further states that ASI Zafar Iqbal and the accompanying personnel displayed “negligence and carelessness,” which facilitated the escape of the under-custody suspect.
Iqbal Sanghera had been arrested on August 1. Authorities secured three separate periods of physical remand totaling 13 days before transferring him to jail on August 19.
At the time of his arrest, officials recovered a Land Cruiser SUV, a Rolex watch allegedly taken as a bribe from the complainant, Rs 1.47 million received under the pretext of “expenses,” original open files of two commercial five-marla plots, and an additional Rs 340,000 said to be bribe money. But the case, investigators say, goes far beyond these items.
Sanghera’s name had reportedly been linked to a prominent political figure from Sialkot, while alleged corruption in major infrastructure projects involving influential contractors was also under investigation.
There is now growing concern that the search for Sanghera may take a darker turn. Some fear that police, acting on insider intelligence, could approach a location where an armed “encounter” conveniently results in the suspect being shot dead, closing the file forever, as has happened with countless other corruption cases.
An alternative scenario, according to observers, is that Sanghera remains in hiding, protected because “the demon’s life is tied to this parrot,” as the local expression goes. Should that demon defy its masters, Sanghera could always be “recovered” and used whenever needed. In other words, an insurance policy.
In both scenarios, the fate of the case appears almost sealed, the file may effectively be considered closed.
