Five PHA officials and contractor sent to Adiala

Investigators tell court they have recovered Rs14.2m from suspects

RAWALPINDI: An additional district and sessions judge on Thursday sent five officials of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) and a private contractor arrested in a corruption case to Central Jail Adiala on judicial remand for 14 days.

ADSJ Gulzar Ahmed Khalid, acting as special judge Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), sent former PHA Director General Dr Abid Malik, Director Aziz Ullah, Deputy Director Saqib Ellahi, Assistant Director Khalid Saeed Butt, Sub Engineer Shakeel Ahmed and private contractor Khawar Saeed on judicial remand after the ACE officials did not seek further physical custody.

The ACE investigators informed the court that they had recovered Rs14.214 million from the contractor and the officials. They said that they interrogated the accused for six days and would soon submit detailed investigation report in the court in a few days.

The gang of six was arrested on August 3 for misappropriating public funds while importing artificial grass for two under construction football grounds.

They were arrested and suspended on a report of an inspection team of the chief minister initiated on the complaint of former PML-N MNA Hanif Abbasi.

One of the arrested official told The Express Tribune outside the court that they had done nothing wrong and they had been made victim of political wrangling.

He said that a PML-N leader communicated wrong facts to the chief minister against the PHA officials. He said that the inspection team was satisfied with the facts and figures shared by the arrested officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2017.