OGRA scam: Imposter held for attempting to kidnap witness

Police say suspect claimed to be an army official

ISLAMABAD: A man was arrested for attempting to kidnap two officials of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) while posing as a soldier, the police said on Saturday.

According to the police, Ali Khan, a resident of Dera Ismail Khan, attempted to kidnap Ogra LNG Project Executive Director Muhammad Yasin and another official, Imran Akhtar, from their office on September 29 while posing as an army official deputed at General Headquarters, Rawalpindi.

The police produced the suspect in a local court on Saturday, where he was remanded into their custody for two days.

Yasin, who is also a key witness in the multi-billion rupee Ogra scam, told the police that Khan turned up at his office on September 29 and asked him and Akhtar to accompany him for a presentation to be given to the Karachi Corps Commander on the LNG project.  Khan also claimed that the presentation would also be attended by the Chief of Army Staff and that their air tickets had already been arranged.

According to Yasin, when he contacted the coordination officer in Karachi to check on the alleged meeting, officials told him that no such presentation was scheduled.

Yasin then approached the police to lodge the complaint against Khan, who was staying in a guest house in Sector F-6 when he was pick by the police.

Investigation Officer Shams Gill said that during the initial investigation, the suspect disclosed that he was operating Mehsood Hospital in DI Khan. Gill said that on the basis of information provided by Khan, they were trying to track down another suspect.

“After further investigation, we will be able to determine the motive behind the episode as the ORGA scam is a high profile case,” he said.

Yasin told The Express Tribune that he was a witness in the Rs82 billion Ogra scam case against former Ogra chairman Tauqeer Sadiq and others, and has already recorded his statement before a court in the case. When asked if he faced any threats in the past or after he recorded his statement in the OGRA scam, he said he never faced or received any.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2015.