GUJRANWALA: A sessions court on Saturday extended the pre-arrest bail of Nandipur project former chief security officer (CSO) Rana Mehtab Alam till Oct 15 while a civil judge accepted bail application of ex-security guard Balqias Khan in the same case and ordered to release him on submission of surety bonds worth Rs50,000.

Civil Lines SP Nadeem Khokhar told the court that Rana Mehtab was earlier complainant in the furnace oil record case. But when security guard Balqias confessed during interrogation that he had set the furnace oil record on fire at the behest of the CSO, the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) and ministry of water and power suspended him from service, directing police to arrest him.

Khokhar said Mehtab disappeared from the power plant and obtained protective bail from Lahore High Court. The case was later transferred to Gujranwala district and sessions court.

Aroop Town SHO Khuram Shehzad told the court that the security guard changed his statement that he had torched the furnace oil record.

The guard pleaded that he was not nominated in the first information report (FIR) and police implicated him at the behest of CSO.

The SHO said another security guard, Salahuddin, who had been taken into custody, was being released as he was not found guilty.

Nandipur power plant chief executive Muhammad Asif has already been removed and a DSP transferred.

HUMAN AGENTS HELD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claimed on Saturday to have arrested four human traffickers, including two accused of red-book, during a crackdown.

FIA Deputy Director Khalid Anees said red-book accused Yasin was wanted in 20 and Ehsanullah in nine cases of human smuggling.

He said on tip-off a team, led by Assistant Director Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and SHO Inspector Waqar Awan, raided Daska and Gujrat and arrested them. He said the party also arrested two proclaimed offenders Riaz Gujjar and Asif Shah from Wazirabad.

He said the suspects had sent many people to Greek via Iran and Turkey following extorting hefty amounts from them. But these people were arrested by border security and deported.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2016