OKARA/MUZAFFARGARH: Two assistant commissioners have been suspended from service over mismanagement and charges of corruption in supply of subsidised sugar in Okara and Muzaffargarh.

Additional Chief Secretary Irum Bukhari on Sunday suspended Dipalpur Assistant Commissioner Rana Aurangzeb from service over fraud in the sale of subsidised sugar for the Sasta Ramazan Bazaars of teshil Dipalpur.

After the public complaints about the unavailability of sugar and overcharging on its sale, Deputy Commissioner Amir Aqeeq Khan held an inquiry. He sent his findings to the chief secretary on April 15th. The inquiry revealed that a sugar dealer, Ijaz, was authorised by the AC to lift sugar from the mills and supply it to other dealers/shopkeepers of the tehsil Dipalpur. Ijaz was hand-picked by Nawaz, a senior clerk of the Dipalpur Municipal Committee (MC) chief officer. Under patronage of the AC, Nawaz supplied the subsidised sugar to various shopkeepers who were not authorised to sell it.

Similarly, in Haveli Lakha, an employee of Haveli Lakha MC, identified as Babar, was given a free hand by the tehsil administration. Babar gave the whole stock of sugar to his brother-in-law Tariq Zargar, who was not a trader. Nawaz and Babar were in charge of Ramadan Bazaars Dipalpur and Haveli Lakha, respectively.

The DC had also written to the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) to register a case and investigate it to bring all the culprits to the book.

The Services and General Administration Department placed the services of the AC under suspension and directed him to report to the department.

Assistant Commissioner Rana Muhammad Shoaib was suspended from service for involvement in corruption over subsidised sugar.

Muzaffargarh district sugar quota was 6,500 metric tonne from Sheikhu Sugar Mills to provide to the Sasta Ramazan Bazaars and subsidised shops but there was shortage of sugar in Ramazan bazaars and other retail shops as the shopkeepers were selling it at Rs100 per kg. The district administration failed to ensure sale of sugar at Rs85 per kg at retail shops. The people complained that they failed to get sugar from Ramazan bazaars.

A sweets shop owner said he had got sugar from the assistant commissioner from the quota. He alleged that thousands of sugar bags had been sold to private shopkeepers and sweet shops.

When the complaints reached the provincial capital, an inquiry was held and AC Rana Muhammad Shoaib was asked to leave the district immediately.

They additional district commissioner (ADC) said the AC was suspended from service of over public complaints.

Sources said that a committee was busy probing the sugar scam while the AC had been asked to report to the Services and General Administration Department in Lahore.

About the move, Mr Shoaib claimed that it was a routine transfer and he had not been suspended from service.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2021