ISLAMABAD: An additional legal adviser to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has been sent to Adiala Jail on a judicial remand in connection with a housing society scam.

The Ministry of Commerce Employees Cooperative Housing Society was launched in 1987 but its management could not start development work and hand over possession of plots to the 7,000 members so far.

According to a complaint filed with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the society’s president, the general secretary, Raja Adnan Aslam, who is also the additional legal adviser to the CDA, along with several members committed corruption.

The CDA had deputed Aslam to pursue its real estate-related disputes with private parties in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Last week, NAB arrested him in connection with the scam and produced him before the accountability court.

As per the NAB investigation, as the general secretary of the society, Aslam “unauthorisedly approved escalation in 2009 on development works of the society in excess of the authorised rates published in the Statistical Bulletin.”

It added, “the accused with mala fide intentions approved the escalation on items on which escalation had already been paid.”

Though the matter was pending with NAB since January 2015, the bureau took action against the accused after the complainant approached the inspection team.

According to the complaint, NAB officials did not pursue the case and after the inquiry against the accused was at the final stages the investigation was assigned to an inexperienced officer.

The bureau initially arrested the contractor, Raja Ishaq, of the housing society. However, when the matter was fixed before the IHC, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui grilled the NAB officials as to why they had not taken action against the main accused. Subsequently, the bureau arrested Aslam.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2016

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