LAHORE: An accountability court on Tuesday indicted two former district police officers of Gujrat, Rai Ijaz and Kamran Mumtaz, besides 15 others in a reference of alleged corruption in funds of the Gujrat police.

The suspects pleaded not guilty and the court directed the prosecution to present its witnesses at the next hearing on June 17.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) alleged that at least Rs3 billion had been misappropriated in the district under different heads including uniforms, petrol bills, allowances and martyrs funds of the police department during the tenures of different officers.

Another former DPO of Gujrat, Rai Zameer, had been declared absconder in the reference for constantly avoiding his appearance before the court.

The bureau also accused the police officers of making ghost appointments of constables in the district.

The suspects/officers in their defence had previously told the court that the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) had completed its investigation into the charges and submitted its findings which showed no evidence of the alleged corruption. They said the inquiry by the ACE rather exonerated them of the charges. He said the case against his client was fabricated and based on speculation.

The NAB-Karachi had arrested Ijaz on Nov 30 from interior Sindh after the bureau’s Lahore office issued an arrest warrant against him. Later, he was handed over to the Lahore office. The officers were later released on bail by the Lahore High Court.

Other suspects/police officials include Imran Siddiqui, Rizwan Ashraf, Rameez Ahmad, Fayaz Ahmad, Akhtar Hussain and Muhammad Afzal.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2021