MIRPUR, Aug 27: Police on Saturday arrested two sitting officials of the Mirpur Development Authority and two other men who once served the authority on charges of corruption and misuse of powers.

The officials were rounded up in separate raids after the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Accountability Bureau issued their arrest warrants.

The Senior Superintendent of Police in Mirpur, Khalid Mahmood Chohan, told APP that the sitting assistant town planner, Chaudhry Muhammad Akram, and overseer Sheikh Arif Zafar were among those arrested. Mr Chohan identified the other two men as Khalid Masood Chaudhry and Khawaja Ejaz Ahmed, both former town planners.

He said the men were detained over their suspected involvement in corruption, malpractices and irregularities during official duties, as outlined by the AJK Accountability Bureau chief.

The raids were conducted by a police party comprising DSP Anti-Corruption Police, Muzaffarabad, Shafqat Tanver, DSP Headquarters Mirpur Raja Irfan Salim, City Inspector Raja Aamir Nawabi and SHO Thothal police station Ansar Ali.

The accused persons will be kept in Thothal police station until they are sent to Muzaffarabad for further investigation by accountability officials.

The police force is hunting down another sitting officer of the Mirpur Development Authority whose warrants have been issued by the AJK Ehtesab Bureau.

The absconding official is wanted in connection with allegations of corruption and irregularities. —APP