Corruption charges: 10 govt officers arrested

Separately, ACE Sukkur seizes records from college director’s office

SUKKUR: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) arrested 10 government officials, including former Civil Hospital, Jacobabad medical superintendent Shabbir Shaikh on alleged charges of corruption worth millions of rupees.

On Tuesday, ACE Jacobabad circle officer Shoukat Ali Rind, along with his team, raided different places and arrested Shabbir, his clerk, Qurban Buriro and former Jacobabad taluka education officer Abdul Shakoor Banglani. The accused were produced on Wednesday before the civil judge and judicial magistrate, who granted them a six-day remand.



ACE Jacobabad head constable Syed Inayat Shah told The Express Tribune that Shabbir and Qurban were involved in misappropriation of hospital funds worth millions of rupees that were meant for building maintenance, purchase of medicine and the Zakat fund meant for the poor and needy patients.

Further, Banglani had demolished on October 11 the building of a primary school in Raheem Khan Jakhrani village and sold the land to someone else. "We have taken custody of the accused and on expiry of the remand, they will be produced before a special anti-corruption court," said Shah.

Seven more arrested

Meanwhile, a team of ACE Shikarpur raided Shikarpur district prison and arrested seven officials. The accused, head clerk Nisar Ahmed Shaikh and police constables Abdul Waheed, Noor Ahmed, Talib Hussain, Bux Ali, Mehrab and Asadullah, were arrested on charges of corruption, while the prison superintendent Ali Bux Shaikh is absconding.

ACE Shikarpur circle officer Abdul Wahab Buriro confirmed the arrest of the seven officials and said that the prison superintendent had been suspended and is absconding but ACE will nab him in a day or two.

The officials are involved in massive corruption, including usurping fuel and maintenance funds and the Zakat fund, said Abdul Wahab.



Records seized

Separately, a team of ACE Sukkur raided the office of the director of college education. Seeing the team, all the officials fled, however, the team managed to take into custody records pertaining to maintenance and recruitments from 2010 to date.

We are going through the records, after which we will be able to share information with the media, said ACE Sukkur deputy director Mohammad Ali Wassan.

An ACE official, requesting anonymity, said that the raid was conducted on complaints of massive irregularities in recruitments, postings and transfers and the misuse of maintenance funds.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2016.