Court extends judicial remand of former chairman, CEO

The investigation revealed accused Ajmal changed the clauses of the agreement

LAHORE:  

An accountability court on Wednesday extended the judicial remand of former Saaf Pani Company chairman Engineer Raja Qamarul Islam and former CEO Wasim Ajmal for another 12 days till January 28.

Raja Qamarul Islam and Wasim Ajmal were brought from the jail and presented before the accountability court on Wednesday in a corruption scandal. The hearing was adjourned will the next date without any proceedings. A reference has been filed against 20 suspects by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the Saaf Pani Company corruption scam.

The NAB prosecutor said Raja Qamarul Islam was accused of awarding illegal contracts of 84 water treatment plants of the Saaf Pani Company at an exorbitant rate.

These water plants contained 56 reverse osmosis plants, while 28 ultra-filtration plants were also included. These water plants were to be installed in four tehsils including Hasilpur, Minchinaba, Khanpur and Lodhran.

The NAB investigations revealed that Engineer Raja Qamarul Islam maliciously manipulated financial estimates in the bidding documents and gave the contract to a company named KSB Pumps on higher rates. These events took place when he was an in charge of the procurement committee. He approved the KSB Pumps company’s contract of 102 water filtration plants at higher rates.

The investigation also revealed that another accused, Wasim Ajmal, was involved in forging the documents of Saaf Pani Company after the biding was finalized. This is a major violation, according to the Punjab Procurement Rules 2014.

Ajmal illegally installed eight filtration plants in Dunyapur Tehsil, while the relevant area was not included in the contract. In connivance with the contractors and the consultant, Ajmal changed the clauses of the agreement. He illegally provided Rs24.7 million to Ali and Fatima Private Ltd without the approval of the boards of directors. He provided the money as an office rent while the office was never rented. The investigation further revealed that the appointment of accused Wasim Ajmal as Saaf Pani Company CEO was illegal. His appointment was allegedly approved by the board of directors.