KARACHI: Corrupt chief of cantt board gets 8-year RI
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 24: An Accountability court sentenced on Wednesday the former cheif executive officer of the Hyderabad Cantonment Board to an eight-year term and a fine of Rs20 million for amassing wealth by illegal means.
Judge Riaz Ahmed Phulpoto of AC-2 also ordered the forfeiture of the assets and properties of Badar Alam Bachani, a grade-18 officer, who will have to undergo an additional three- year term in case of default on the payment of fine.
The former HCB chief executive officer, arrested on Jan 1 by the National Accountability Bureau, was found guilty of accumulating movable and immovable properties and other assets, worth over Rs25.62 million, which were “incompatible to his known legitimate sources of income”.
Bachani, appointed additional cantonment executive officer in BPS-17 in 1983, acquired 80.16 acres of agricultural land in his name in 1993 in Deh Nimro, Taluka Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad. The value of the land was Rs8.2 million.
In 1998, he purchased agricultural land measuring 116 acres in Deh Rajpari, Taluka Hyderabad, in the name of his two minor sons, Fahad Badar and Bilawal Badar. The assessed market value of the land is about Rs11.6 million.
The same year, the former officer of the Hyderabad Cantonment Board also purchased a bungalow in the Defence Housing Authority, having a market value up to Rs6 million.
Besides, the accused spent over Rs10 million on the his and his family’s visits to several countries. The family performed a Haj and four Umras and visited several other countries, including England, Holland and Singapore.
The expenses of the foreign visits were much more than his total salary drawn during his entire service.
Bachani and his wife also operated several bank accounts and the total transactions were up to over two billion rupees.
According to the prosecution, his monthly expenditure topped Rs50,000 though the accused was drawing a salary of Rs8,745 per month.
The prosecution, represented by Abdul Ghafoor Khan, examined in all 14 prosecution witnesses against Bachani, who was also disqualified for 10 years “for seeking or from being elected, chosen, appointed or nominated as a member or representative of any public body or any statutory or local authority”.
DRUG TRAFFICKERS: The special anti-narcotics court, headed by Judge Ali Nawaz Pirzada, convicted on Wednesday three drug traffickers, including a naturalized Britisher of Nigerian origin.
The African drug trafficker, Andrew Meloughlin, was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of Rs100,000.
He was arrested on Dec 28, 1999 in Embassy Hotel by officials of the Anti-narcotics Force (ANF), who seized two kilograms heroin from him.
The judge ordered that the accused would have to undergo an additional one-year term in case of default on the payment.
Akhtar Nawaz, arrested on Nov 13 last year by the Gulzar-i-Hijri police, was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three years.
The drug pusher, who was found possessing 655 grams charas at the time of arrest, was also fined Rs5,000. He will undergo three-month RI in case of default on the payment of fine.
The judge sentenced Gul Rehan to a four-year term for possessing one kilo charas.
The accused, arrested on Nov 23 last year by the Mominabad police, was also fined Rs5,000 and the judge ordered that he would have to suffer an additional three-month term if he defaulted on the payment.
