LAHORE, March 18: A judicial magistrate on Friday allowed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) a three-day physical remand of MPA Chaudhry Moonis Elahi of the PML-Q and directed the agency to present him again on March 21. Earlier, the FIA and rangers authorities presented the accused legislature before magistrate Ehtisham Sadiq at district courts under tight security arrangements. Moonis was brought in an armed personnel carrier (APC) without handcuffs.

Hundreds of party workers already gathered on the court premises welcomed their leader. They also chanted slogans against the PML-N-led Punjab government and accused it of hatching a conspiracy against Moonis Elahi.

The magistrate started hearing in a closed-courtroom and no unwarranted person was allowed the entry.

FIA officials told court that the agency had to recover Rs320 million from the accused which he was alleged to embezzle in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL). The agency requested the court to allow a seven-day physical remand of the accused.

M. Iqbal Bhatti, the counsel for the accused, opposed the agency’s request and pleaded that it was not a dacoity or murder case which required physical custody.

He said the FIA had been investigating the matter for the last nine months but failed to make any recovery.

The counsel also pointed out that the FIA should have got permission from the Punjab Assembly speaker before arresting the MPA. He alleged that his client was a political figure and was being victimized.

The magistrate granted a three-day remand of Moonis and directed the FIA to produce him on March 21.

The magistrate asked Moonis whether he faced any problem during custody, but his reply was “no”.

The FIA took back Moonis immediately after hearing and did not allow him to talk to media persons.

Moonis had surrendered to the FIA on Thursday after an LHC division bench rejected his application for a pre-arrest bail in the NICL scam.