Misuse of authority: Former engineer sentenced to five years

Fined Rs39.042 million in two NAB references.

The former Executive Engineer of the Works and Services Department of Mardan, Abdul Qayyum Marwat, has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined Rs39.042 million for misuse of authority.

The verdict was announced by the Peshawar Accountability Court IV on Tuesday while hearing two references filed by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chapter.

Marwat was found guilty of embezzling millions of rupees while overseeing development programmes worth Rs3.2 billion for primary education in K-P, under which steel grills and railings were to be installed in primary schools in Mardan.

The court found that the contract for the project was awarded by the accused at exorbitant rates, causing a loss of Rs47.648 million to the national exchequer.

The court also found Marwat guilty of misappropriating government funds which were meant for the repair and maintenance of various schools in Mardan District, causing a loss of Rs1.277 million.

Other people accused in the two cases have already paid back the embezzled amount through voluntary return and plea bargain agreements.

After the court decided both cases in favour of NAB K-P, the accused was arrested and sent to Central Prison Peshawar.

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