KARACHI: An anti-corruption court on Wednesday granted interim pre-arrest bail to provincial secretary for local government Roshan Ali Shaikh in a corruption case till Jan 20.

The court also remanded assistant executive engineer of the Karachi Development Authority Zaheer Abbas to prison in the same case as the Anti-Corruption Establis­hment had arrested him on Jan 7 on the charges of misappropriation of funds meant for development schemes of the Karachi Metro­politan Corporation (KMC) through forged tendering.

The local government secretary through his lawyer moved an application seeking pre-arrest bail and after a preliminary hearing judge of special provincial anti-corruption court Naushaba Qazi granted him interim bail against a surety bond of Rs50,000 till Jan 20 and issued a notice to the Anti-Corruption Establishment for arguments at next hearing.

ACE investigating officer Ayaz Qaimkhani produced the detained assistant executive engineer before the court for remand and he was sent on judicial remand.

According to the ACE, the suspects have been allegedly involved in the embezzlement of funds of 10 development schemes of the KMC as they awarded tenders to the blue-eyed contractors without fulfilling the procedure,

while payments were also made in violation of rules and regulations. It further maintained that the work permits of these schemes were also not found.

The case was lodged under sections 161 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 at the ACE police station.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Geopolitical games
Updated 18 Dec, 2024

Geopolitical games

While Assad may be gone — and not many are mourning the end of his brutal rule — Syria’s future does not look promising.
Polio’s toll
18 Dec, 2024

Polio’s toll

MONDAY’s attacks on polio workers in Karak and Bannu that martyred Constable Irfanullah and wounded two ...
Development expenditure
18 Dec, 2024

Development expenditure

PAKISTAN’S infrastructure development woes are wide and deep. The country must annually spend at least 10pc of its...
Risky slope
Updated 17 Dec, 2024

Risky slope

Inflation likely to see an upward trajectory once high base effect tapers off.
Digital ID bill
Updated 17 Dec, 2024

Digital ID bill

Without privacy safeguards, a centralised digital ID system could be misused for surveillance.
Dangerous revisionism
Updated 17 Dec, 2024

Dangerous revisionism

When hatemongers call for digging up every mosque to see what lies beneath, there is a darker agenda driving matters.