GUJRAT: Two police officials have been dismissed from service on charges of embezzling Rs58 million by entering fake bills of fuel during the 2005-16 fiscal year, while the police accountant during the aforementioned period has been at large for a year.

District Police Officer (DPO) Jahanzeb Nazeer Khan told Dawn the motor transport officer (MTO) of police, Sub-Inspector Akhtar, and his deputy Assistant Sub-Inspector Muhammad Ashraf had been dismissed from service after they were found guilty of embezzling a huge amount from the accounts of district police.

He said he had dismissed these officials in light of the findings of a departmental inquiry conducted on the orders of the inspector general whereas another inquiry was under way by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE). He said these officials had earlier been issued show-cause notices but they could not come up with satisfactory response.

The then accountant of Gujrat police, Rizwan Ashraf, who was said to be the focal person on behalf of the then DPO, was at large since the scam surfaced around a year ago and the inquiry report had mentioned that the MTO and his deputy had become a rubber stamp at the hands of the accountant who had hijacked the affairs of the motor transport branch of police.

The report further said that the dismissed officials had sent fake applications of drivers demanding extra fuel on the directions of the accountant whereas fuel bills available at the district accounts office were found unsigned by the DPO who had the powers of a drawing and disbursement officer (DDO). Copies of these bills were also not available at the district accounts office for verification.

The inquiry team reported that the fuel consumed over the monthly assigned consumption had actually been embezzled and the amount during 2015-16 was around Rs58 million.

Official sources said the scam had been committed with abetment of some officials of the district accounts office, which needed to be probed by higher authorities.

District Accounts Officer Fazalur Rehman also confirmed to Dawn that the bills were not available with the accounts office which was criminal negligence. However he said the inquiry was under way at Gujranwala ACE where the officials concerned of his office had also recorded their statements.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2017