LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore has decided to initiate process to bring three senior police officials back from abroad after receiving evidence against them in embezzlement of funds and possessing assets beyond their [known] sources of income.

“Senior police officers of Punjab – SSP Suhail Zafar Chatha and SP Kamran Mumtaz – have allegedly embezzled [police] funds during their posting as DPO (district police officer) in Gujrat. The NAB has also received evidence against them with regard to possessing income beyond their known sources,” an official source told Dawn on Monday.

Along with these two [officials], he said SSP Dr Haider Ashraf is also accused of misusing his authority and possessing assets beyond means.

“All three senior officers have managed to leave the country and the NAB has decided to initiate the process to bring them back. For the purpose the NAB is writing to Inspector General Police Amjad Saleemi to take legal measures to bring three officials of his force back to join the investigation,” he said, adding the bureau might also write to the interior ministry in this regard.

The source further said Suhail Chatha, Kamran Mumtaz and SSP Rai Ijaz during their tenure as Gujrat DPO allegedly embezzled funds with regard to “cost of investigation, Shuhada compensation, pension allowance, utility charges and POL expenses. Rai Ijaz who also served as Lahore traffic police chief has been in NAB custody since Dec 1.

NAB has accused SSP Ijaz of causing a loss of Rs700 million to the national exchequer by misappropriation of police funds. It said he embezzled funds between 2014 and 2016 while serving as DPO in Gujrat. Ijaz spent funds of Rs1.3 billion in eight months only and allegedly misappropriated millions of rupees, the bureau said, adding he was also involved in appointment of ‘ghost police constables.’

Ijaz’s father Rai Zameer, a former DPO Gujrat, is also wanted in this case but he has been absconding for the last one month or so. The NAB has not yet succeeded in tracking him down.

The inquiry against former Lahore police chief retired Capt Amin Wains in income beyond means is also under way.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2019