Corruption case: NAB gets 15-day remand of Railways GM

Saeed Akhtar is alleged to have sold scrap material on low rates.

LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday granted a 15-day remand for Pakistan Railways General Manager Operations Saeed Akhtar to the National Accountability Bureau.

Saeed Akhtar is alleged to have sold scrap material on cheap rates, causing huge losses to the railways department.

NAB had sought a physical remand of the accused after he was produced in the accountability court.

Defence counsel Advocate Asad Butt maintained that his client had been wrongly accused, adding that the railways ministry handled the contract and that his client had nothing to do with it.

Butt informed the court that around 4,000 tonnes of scrap was sold, while around 21,000 tonnes was in the custody of railways.

He added that the contractors had requested the railway authorities to let them pay in installments as they were unable to give such a hefty amount at once.

NAB, on the other hand, argued that no effort was made to sell the scrap at market rates and was consequently sold on very cheap rates. The court has fixed April 14 as the next date of hearing.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2012.