PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has filed three references with the accountability court here against eight persons for corruption.
The accused persons also include deputy chief engineer of Pakistan Railways and former executive engineer of Public Works Department (Pak-PWD).
In one of the three references, the NAB has charged Pakistan Railways Locomotive Factory, Risalpur, deputy chief engineer Syed Fayaz Ali Shah of possessing assets of Rs18.4 million which were disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The reference was filed under the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, and in next couple of days the accountability court would start proceedings in it. The authority has alleged that the suspect possessed several valuable properties of whose he could not provide any justification.
Some of the properties allegedly owned by the suspect include: two plots of one kanal each at Risalpur; one plot of two kanals at Sheikh Maltoon Town in Mardan; two CNG stations; a commercial plot of 10 kanals in Nowshera; and, 16 kanals agriculture land in Mardan. The suspect was arrested by the NAB a few weeks ago.
Another reference of Rs10.77 million was filed against four Pak-PWD officials, including former executive engineer Mohammad Asif, sub-engineer Fareedon Khan, sub-divisional officer Abdul Wahab and divisional accounts officer Mohammad Shafiq.
The NAB has alleged in the reference that the officials in connivance with each other had misappropriated over Rs10 million in development funds meant for water supply schemes in Upper Dir district.
It is alleged that the Pak-PWD Batkhela division had allocated and R190 million for Dir town water supply scheme in 2012-13. However, physical inspections of the sites allegedly revealed ghost, substandard and incomplete schemes for which payments had been made to contractors.
The NAB alleged that Mohammad Asif along with officials of Pak-PWD Batkhela office had committed irregularities and embezzled funds released for the developmental work in question with the connivance of contractors.
Moreover, after completion of investigation a reference was filed with the accountability court against three persons, including a land acquisition collector of Provincial Housing Authority, Naveed Qadir, regarding fraud during acquisition of land for a housing scheme in Surezai area of Peshawar. The other suspects are landowners identified as Abdul Hashim and Ghulam Qadir. The bureau has accused the three suspects of inflicting a loss of Rs11.9 million on the provincial exchequer.
