LAHORE, July 14: An appellate bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday denied bail to Razia Shafi, a former managing-director of the defunct United Development Co-operative Society, in a NAB reference.
The petitioner and her husband Muhammad Shafi, a former deputy registrar of cooperatives societies, had been accused in a NAB reference for appropriating Rs130.89 million out of the UDCS’ funds.
Ms Shafi pleaded that she and her husband had made an agreement with the NAB for the repayment, and paid Rs2.5 million to the credit of the NAB. After repayment, she argued that she could not be kept behind bars.
She also contended that the court should grant her bail considering that, being a woman, her case was fully covered by Section 497 CrPC.
According to the petitioner, the NAB had failed to bring in an incriminating evidence against her so far, and she was willing to file a surety bond with the court as a token of her assurance that she would not abscond the proceedings after being granted bail.
Additional Advocate-General Bilal Khan and NAB counsel Ali Tipu opposed the bail on the grounds that the petitioner had committed a fraud with 150 clients of the society, abusing her official position.
The counsel said the petition was the sole signatory to all the transaction regarding the alleged appropriation of funds, and the nature of the crime committed by her did not warrant release on bail. They feared that she might abscond if granted bail.
The couple allegedly appropriated the society’s funds with the abetment of their son Imran. According to the NAB, they bought 437-kanal barren land near Murree out of the UDCS’ funds, which could not be utilized for any agricultural purpose or for house construction.
The prosecution also alleged that the petitioner maintained two bank accounts in Rawalpindi and investigation about these was in progress.
BAIL EXTENDED: The court extended till July 22 pre-arrest bail of Sumera Sandhal in a NAB reference.
The petitioner is the wife of a NAB absconder, Amjad Sandhal, the former land acquisition officer appointed in PARCO oil pipeline project and nominated in a PARCO affectees scam reference.
While extending her bail, the court directed her to disclose her source of income on the next day of hearing. The petitioner allegedly amassed assets out of money appropriated by her husband from PARCO affectees funds.