SAHIWAL: Special Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Judge Asif Bashir issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Ibrahim Manika, son of Khawar Manika, and Allah Nawaz Wattoo, excise inspector with Okara ACE, after their repeated failure to appear in court.

Both men have been ordered to be arrested and presented in court at the next hearing scheduled for Nov 15.

The Rs113.2 million corruption case centres on allegations against Khawar, his sons Mousa and Ibrahim, and Wattoo. Only Khawar appeared in court on Wednesday, while reports indicate that Ibrahim fled to Spain in August 2023 and has since been absent from all hearings.

In early October, the court formally charged Khawar, Mousa, Ibrahim, and Wattoo.

Khawar’s appeal for discharge from the case, filed through ACE, has been rejected twice. The charges, based on a report by the deputy commissioner and filed by ACE on Aug 11, 2023, accuse Khawar and his sons of illegally converting graveyard and state land in Hujra Shah Muqeem into commercial property, allegedly causing a loss of Rs113.2 million to the national treasury.

POWER THEFT: Dera Rahim police arrested three people for power theft and detaining two Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) linemen in village 138/9-L last week.

The case involves nine people accused of installing a bogus meter to steal electricity.

Mepco linemen Muhammad Nadeem and Muhammad Akram faced resistance while removing the bogus meter installed at the residence of Muhammad Amjad. A police team later rescued the detained linemen, though during the operation, the suspects damaged a police vehicle and fled.

A case was registered on the complaint of SDO Amir Nawab, naming suspects Amjad, Muhammad Arshad, Muhammad Khalid, Muhammad Safdar, Ashiq, Saqib, Sajida, Arifa and Rashida Bibi under Pakistan Penal Code sections 462, 342, 353, 506, 148, and 149.

The police arrested Amjad, Arshad and Khalid.

BISP: Eighty-three percent of women beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in Sahiwal district have received a collective instalment totalling Rs998.45 million for the September quarter.

The funds were distributed through 10 BISP centres across the district.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024