KARACHI, Nov 25 A judicial magistrate on Thursday remanded a former chairman of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan and four others in judicial custody in a case pertaining to the import of substandard wheat.

The TCP's former chairman, Abdul Malik, director Adil Mehkri, and private individuals Saeed Abdul Qadir Bhombal, Anjum Iqbal Warsi and Mohammad Iqbal Sheikh with their absconding accomplices have been charged with committing misappropriation in the import of wheat in 2008-09.

The suspects, who have been in the custody of the Federal Investigation Agency on physical remand since Nov 22, were produced before the judicial magistrate (south), Ghulam Farooq Sheikh.

The court sent the suspects to prison on judicial remand till Nov 26 and directed the investigation officer to submit a charge-sheet in the special anti-corruption court.

According to the prosecution, the FIA conducted an inquiry (10/2009) which established that the TCP officials in connivance with others had misused their official powers and imported over 2,600,000 tonnes of substandard wheat through seven tenders during 2008 and 2009 on higher rates, which benefited the suppliers and the suspects and caused an over Rs10 billion loss to the national exchequer.

A case (FIR 12/2010) was registered against the suspects under Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant or by banker merchant or argent), 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act-II on behalf of state at the FIA corporate crime circle in Karachi.

Another former chairman of the TCP, Mohammad Saeed, directors (commercial) Munawar Akhtar Islam and Dr Yousuf Junaid, director (finance) Manzoor Bhatti and ex-director (commercial) Syed Sibtain Moman, Khawaja Mohammad Zubair of M/s Baltic Control Ltd, Jawed Hamid Rizvi of M/s Insectorate Ltd and the directors/CEOs of foreign private firms, including Argocorp International (Singapore), Glencore Grain B.V. (Netherlands), WJ Grain (Hungary), Louis Dryfus Asia (Singapore/Canada) and Zaovitalimar Agro (Russia) were also nominated in the FIR.

Man sentenced in fraud case

The same court sentenced on Thursday a man to three years in prison in a fraud case.

The court found Masroor Mirza guilty of committing the offence and also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on him. In case of non-payment of the fine, the convict would have to undergo an additional three-month imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, a director of a private firm had paid Rs115,980 to the accused for the supply of rice in January, but later the accused refused to receive the amount.

A case (FIR 7/2010) was registered under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the FIA corporate circle in Karachi.

Two doctors remanded

A judicial magistrate on Thursday remanded two doctors and as many technicians of a private hospital in police custody till Nov 29 in a case pertaining to the death of a four-year-old patient.

According to the prosecution, the complainant brought his minor son Ali Haider to the private hospital due to bad health. The doctors operated upon the patient on Nov 23, but he died due to the alleged negligence of the doctors and technicians.The police arrested Dr Ali Asghar, Dr Lutfullah, Mohammad Yaqoob and Mohammad Sajid on Nov 24.

A case (FIR 470/2010) was registered under Sections 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Brigade police station.