KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday ordered the police to register a case against officials of the National Accountability Bureau and others for kidnapping and harassing a former district accounts officer (DAO) of Hyderabad for extortion.

Headed by the SHC Chief Justice, a two-judge bench also directed the Sindh Police IG and the NAB director general, Karachi, to ensure that ex-DAO Sikandar Ali Abro and his family were not harassed in any manner.

The bench was hearing a petition of Abro seeking the court’s restraining orders to NAB officials who were allegedly harassing him in respect to an inquiry pertaining to embezzlement.

The petitioner impleaded the NAB chairman, NAB DG Sindh and NAB investigation officer Faiz Ahmed as respondents and asked the court to declare his arrest illegal.

The court was further requested to direct the DIG South Karachi to register an FIR of the incident.

Superintendent of police (legal) Habib Khan and SHO of Darakhshan police station appeared before the court stating that they were ready to record statement of the petitioner and do the needful in the light of the said statement.

The court directed the SHO to record the statement and submit a compliance report on the next date.

The bench also asked the IGP and DG NAB Karachi to ensure that Abro, his wife or any of his family members were not harassed or intimidated in any manner by the NAB officials, or else appropriate order will be passed against the delinquent officers.

The hearing was adjourned to Dec 22.

The petitioner stated that some of his subordinates misappropriated funds in 2011 when he was working as district accounts officer in Hyderabad.

Later, he said, the NAB chairman authorised an inquiry against him.

He said he appeared before the investigation officer and subsequently he was illegally harassed by the NAB personnel.

He said he moved the SHC against the harassment and the SHC on March 16, 2012 directed the NAB officials not take any coercive action against him.

However, the petitioner said that he was arrested by NAB on Nov 26, 2012 and remanded to the investigation agency for 86 days.

Later, the case against the petitioner was discharged by the accountability court after NAB told the court that he was not required in the case as the other accused under inquiry had availed the option of voluntary return of the misappropriated funds.

He said that NAB again issued him call-up notice on May 24, 2016 to appear before the investigators, and subsequently he approached the SHC that granted him interim bail.

He said he filed the instant petition after an assistant director of NAB along with others kidnapped him to extort money from him on Nov 18 at Seaview.

He said that the NAB team fled the scene when they saw his cousin and his friends.

The petitioner said he submitted a complaint to the Darakhshan police, but they refused to lodge his FIR against the kidnappers.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2017