Crackdown: Two food inspectors arrested for extortion

HARIPUR:

Two officials of Haripur health department’s food and sanitary section were arrested on charges of extortion on Monday.

Anti-Corruption Police Assistant Circle Officer Syed Piambar Raza told The Express Tribune that Food and Sanitary Patrol Officer Sheikh Javed and his assistant, Muhammad Waheed, were booked after marked notes amounting to Rs4,000 were recovered from their offices during a raid.

Raza said that Ishaq Shah, who runs a milk shop on Dhenda Road, lodged a report with the anti-corruption police on Sunday alleging that Javed and his assistant Waheed demanded Rs9,000 from him in order to ‘clear’ the samples of yogurt and milk collected from his shop earlier. He claimed that the two food inspectors expressed concern that he has not yet paid them for allowing him to do business in the area for the past few months.

Raza said that police obtained search and arrest warrant for the two officials and raided the office of Javed in the presence of Judicial Magistrate 1 Mansoor Shah. After recovery of the marked notes, the two officials were booked under section 161 of the Pakistan Penal Code and 5/4 of the Prohibition of Corruption Act.

Haripur’s health department, which is headed by Executive District Officer Health, has a food and sanitary section that is tasked to check adulteration of food items.

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