Six C&W officials arrested in Nowshera

Arrests made over embezzlement of funds for construction of warehouse

NOWSHERA: At least six members of the communication and works (C&W) department were arrested in Nowshera on Tuesday over embezzlement charges.

An insider familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune the arrests were made in connection with the mismanagement of funds for the reconstruction of a warehouse for the food department.

“The 2010 floods destroyed the warehouse for the food department in Nowshera,” he said. “The government released Rs50 million and tasked the C&W department to oversee its reconstruction.”

After the construction was completed, locals of Azakhel began to complain about substandard materials used in the construction. They requested Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Director Ziaullah Khan Toru to investigate into the matter.

According to the insider, six C&W officials embezzled Rs21.8 million through the use of substandard material for the construction of the warehouse.

An FIR was registered on September 28 against executive engineer Fazal Wahab, sub-division officer Wajid, sub-engineer Jehanzeb, and contractors Waheed, Zubair and Daad Muhammad.

Jehanzeb and Waheed were arrested on the spot while the others requested for a bail before arrest. However, the judge refused the request and arrested the officials on Tuesday. The department recovered Rs1.7 million from one of the contractors and are expecting to acquire funds from the other officials as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2015.