QUETTA: The National Accountability Bureau, Balochistan, has arrested 12 more officials, including the Director General of Agriculture Department, in connection with embezzlement of funds allocated for the development of Command area of Pat Feeder Canal in Nasirabad district.
Sources in the NAB said here that Rs70.5 million had been allocated in 1997 for construction of watercourses, improving irrigation system and providing other facilities to farmers of Pat Feeder Canal command area, but the amount was not spent on the project. “In the initial investigation, the NAB official unearthed embezzlement of Rs70.5 million in the project,” a senior official said.The NAB authorities registered a case against 20 officials of the Agriculture Department, including project director and contractor of the project.
The nomination officials of the agriculture department filed their bail applications in the High Court and later in the apex court after issuance of their arrest warrant from Balochistan NAB, but their bail applications were rejected by courts.
The NAB authorities, after rejection of their bail application, arrested four officials of the said project four days ago while 12 more, including the former as well as the sitting Director General of Agriculture Department, were arrested on Monday and shifted to Quetta jail.
Those arrested were: Yar Mohammad Pundrani, director general of Extension Agriculture, former DG Ghulam Rasool Gujjar, former project director of Pat feeder Project, Mahmood Ahmad, Rasool Bakhsh Luni, Mohammad Shareef, Munir Ahmad, Mohammad Raseed Mastoi, Karim Bakhsh, Mumtaz Ali, Abdus Sattar Lashari, Mohammad Aslam and Ehsanul Haq.
All the arrested officials of the Agriculture Department were produced before the Accountability Court on Monday, which remanded them to NAB for further investigation.
By Our Staff Correspondent
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