Illegal supply case: Court dismisses bail plea of former PESCO chief

Detained on charges of taking bribes from Afghan refugee.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of Peshawar Electric Supply Company’s (Pesco) former CEO, Parvez Akhtar Shah, who was arrested on charges of illegally supplying electricity to an Afghan refugee camp.

Standing counsel F M Sabir told the court Shah received Rs13 million from an Afghan refugee, Dost Muhammad Khan, and promised to supply electricity to the camp. Khan deposited the amount in the account of another Pesco employee Muhammad Ayaz, added Sabir.

The counsel for the accused said his client was falsely implicated in the case and there is no solid proof to establish that he had supplied electricity to the camp, adding he does not maintain several bank accounts.



Justice Irshad Qaiser rejected the bail of Parvez Akhtar Shah after hearing arguments from both sides.

Previously, anti-corruption court judge Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan had also dismissed Shah’s bail plea on January 19. Shah was arrested on January 13 and sent to prison on the very next day, after he pleaded against physical custody of the FIA investigation team, saying he is a heart patient.

The Federal Investigation Agency accused the suspect of supplying electricity to the refugee camp after the expiry of federal government’s supply agreement. The accused reportedly met the Afghan refugee in Rahatabad, near University of Peshawar, and agreed upon a bribe of Rs13 million for the restoration of power supply.

After receiving a written application from the refugee, the FIA started investigation against the accused under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act which empowers the authority to conduct an enquiry against a public servant charged with criminal misconduct.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 14^th, 2015.