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KARACHI, March 9: Judge Hasan Feroze of the Accountability Court No. 2 ordered on Thursday release of the former chairman of the defunct Prudential Commercial Bank Limited after he returned the embezzled money.
The judge accepted the plea of bargain of Rasheedullah Yaqoob, who faced the charges of embezzlement of over Rs400 million.
The former chairman of the defunct bank, Rasheedullah Yaqoob, was earlier convicted in absentia in the case, investigated by FIA investigators Ghulam Farooq and Faqir Mohammed.
Later, the banker moved a petition before the Sindh High Court against his conviction. The SHC set aside the conviction and directed the trial court to try the accused in the case.
Meanwhile, Mr Yaqoob approached the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau for plea of bargain. The NAB chairman accepted the plea of the banker and sent it to the trial court for approval.
Judge Hasan Feroze approved the bargain plea and ordered the release of the banker. However, the judge disqualified Mr Yaqoob from holding any public or government office for 10 years.
According to the charge, the accused opened an account (No. 26956-380) with the PCBL on Oct 30, 1997, in a fictitious name.
The copy of the national identity card of one of the employees, Abdul Razzak Shaikh, was used for opening of the account in the fictitious name of Ghulam Razzak.
The banker allegedly made fraudulent transactions through this account and misappropriated over Rs400 million.
MURDER CASE: An anti-terrorism court recorded the statement of a prosecution witness in the kidnapping and murder case of an 18-year-old man.
Mehboob Ali, a cloth merchant, was kidnapped for ransom allegedly by his relatives who slaughtered him even after receiving money for his release from his family.
The victim was running a cloth shop with his paternal uncle in Lea Market. On Aug 23, 2005, his second cousin, Uzma, called him on his mobile around 6pm when he was sitting at a close by shop of his friend, Asif. The cousin asked him to come to her house in Garden East.
Jahanzeb, husband of Uzma, his elder brother Aurangzeb and one of their relatives, Mohammed Arif, made Mehboob hostage when he reached Uzma’s house. The kidnappers contacted the victim’s family through his cellular phone and demanded Rs4 million for his release.
However, later the kidnappers agreed to accept ransom of Rs500,000 after a series of negotiations with the victim’s family. On Aug 25, the kidnappers phoned victim’s paternal uncle Asghar Ali around 4:30am and asked him to bring the money at a secluded place near Lyari Expressway.
Special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa examined sub-inspector Fayyaz Ahmed Qadri, who was the first investigation officer of the case.
The judge put off the hearing till Friday when defence counsel Rahim Khan Bangash would cross-examine the prosecution witness.
