Traffic police accounts to be audited

External auditor to be engaged after two cases of corruption during 2017-18 were unearthed

LAHORE:

Following the revelation of two corruption scandals of millions of rupees in the traffic wing of Punjab Police in recent years, the chief traffic officer (CTO) has decided to engage an external auditor.

The auditor will conduct audit of five accounts of City Traffic Police Lahore.

The accounts of income generated from lifter operations against wrong parking, international driving licence, driving test and school fees, as well as licence verification fee will be audited.

The period of the audit is from July 1, 2018 to June 30 this year. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Liaqat Malik served as CTO during most of the period. He was appointed as CTO in June 2018 and transferred as SSP Administration in February 2020.

The auditor has to be on the panel of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and would express opinion on the financial position, revenue generated and expenditure incurred during the period.

An objective of the audit is to enable the city traffic police to effectively perform the functions of oversight, decision-making and accountability.

The auditor will be asked to scrutinise and verify the revenue generated, collected and credited, and expenditure incurred from the welfare accounts. He will submit the audit report and financial statement along with observations based on the income generated and deposited in the accounts and the expenditure made from them.

The decision has been taken after the second corruption scandal involving millions of rupees was detected in the traffic police department since July. An inquiry by the Internal Accountability Branch pointed out an embezzlement of Rs77.9 million during 2017-18. Farooq Mazhar was heading the department at the time. The report divulged that irregularities were committed in the accounts of the department allegedly with the connivance of some staffers of the accountant general office.

In July, another case had surfaced involving corruption of over Rs22 million during 2017-18. The ACE had lodged an FIR of the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2020.