HYDERABAD: Officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested eight officials of the Hyderabad Electricity Supply Company (Hesco), including three senior ones, the other day during multiple raids on the Hesco headquarters and in the Power Wing Colony, in a corruption case.

The senior officers included a chief engineer, acting chief financial officer and director finance.

Six of them were produced before a local court on Wednesday which remanded them in FIA custody for three days while two were handed over to the FIA officials of Nawabshah where a similar FIR was lodged against them.

A judge of consumer court, Munir Ahmed Jagsi, on Wednesday remanded the Hesco chief engineer (development) and five other officials in the FIA custody in a corruption case of Rs89.851 million.

They included Chief Engineer Nisar Memo. He is currently working as chief commercial officer and was the executive engineer Qasimabad at the time of commissioning the offence. Five others included Account Assistant Deepak Lal, Assistant Manager Raheem Bux Qadri, account assistants Mohammad Bilal and Ehtesham, and Assistant Lineman Babar Zai.

An FIR was lodged under sections 409, 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 477-A, 109 PPC read with Section 5(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 vide crime No 7/24 on the complaint of Ghulam Akbar Soomro of the FIA. The offence pertains to Hesco Qasimabad division.

It was lodged after an investigation initiated last year by the FIA crime circle, following information that officers/officials of accounts office Hesco Qasimabad operation division were involved in the misappropriation of salary funds in connivance with each other, causing loss of millions of rupees to the government.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2024