LAHORE: An accountability court on Friday granted 15-day physical remand of a Wapda employee to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for his involvement in theft of furnace oil worth millions from Nandipur Power Plant.

The NAB personnel produced Qaiser Abbas before the court and stated that the suspect was instrumental in reaching a deal between oil tanker owners and some office bearers of the Wapda Employees Union.

The investigating officer told the court that the suspect had been posted at the Nandipur Power Plant during 2013 and involved in theft of furnace oil worth over Rs220m. He sought physical remand of the suspect for further investigation.

On the other side, counsel of the suspect opposed the bureau’s version and argued his client had a clerical job in Wapda and had nothing to do with the supply of furnace oil. He said the NAB was trying to make Abbas a scapegoat to protect the real culprits. He asked the court not to allow physical remand of his client rather send him to jail on judicial remand.

However, the court granted 15-day physical remand of the suspect to the NAB with a direction to it to come up with progress in the investigation.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2018