LAHORE – National Accountability Bureau Lahore (NAB) has arrested fouraccused of embezzlement in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company (PSPC) on Tuesday.
The arrested accused persons were identified as Nasir Qadir, Dr ZaheerulDin, Muhammad Saleem and Muhammad Masood Akhtar. The accused were involvedin corruption of millions of rupees and substantial evidence has been havefound against them, NAB said.
Accused Nasir Qadir worked as a chief procurement officer in PSPC. DrZaheerul Din was appointed as chief technical officer of the project whileSaleem Akhtar worked with the company as a procurement and contractspecialist. Accused Masoood Akhtar, KSB Pumps managing director, has beenaffiliated with the company as a contractor.
The accused persons in connivance with each other caused loss of millionsof rupees to the national exchequer. They installed 116 water filtrationplants on exorbitant rates in Bahawalpur and mentioned false estimates ofthe plants in documents.
NAB said the accused were provided a fair opportunity to present theirversion in their defence. The accused would be produced before anaccountability court for physical remand.
NAB had arrested Punjab Power Development Company Limited (PPDCL) ChiefFinancial Officer Ikram Naveed for his alleged involvement in embezzlementof Rs232 million. The Anti-Corruption Establishment Lahore Region had alsoindicted him in the case.
PSPC is one among 56 companies formed by the hief minister. Chairperson NABJustice (retd) Javed Iqbal had ordered an inquiry into complaints ofembezzlement in these companies. Besides, the Supreme Court of Pakistan hadalso taken notice regarding PSPC and provision of clean drinking water.
Two weeks ago, during the proceedings before the court, the officers of thePunjab government had conceded that at least Rs4 billion had been spent sofar but PSPC had yet to produce a single drop of clean drinking water.