LAHORE, Aug 15: Financial bungling to the tune of Rs2,086,500 has been detected in the Punjab Arts Council after many years.
Sources told Dawn on Wednesday that arts council cashier Bashir Ahmad Sajid had been embezzling the amount from the CP fund ever since Malik Muhammad Husain took charge as the PAC executive director in 2000.
The cheques issued regarding the CP fund also bore forged signatures of the incumbent executive director, Ghulam Mustafa, besides those of pervious executive directors — Malik Muhammad Husain, the late Farzana Qureshi and Tahir Jamil.
They said Deputy Director (Programmes) Khwaja Nazar detected the appropriation of funds by the official of the council when he counter-checked the CP fund files. He found that the cheques had been issued to many people repeatedly by the cashier. Now Sajid had been suspended from service and investigation against him was being done by the council officials, they said.
The executive director, they said, had constituted a three-member committee comprising Deputy Director (Admin) Imran Younis, Deputy Director (Drama) Iqbal Khalid and Deputy Director (Fine Arts) Mian Naeem Ehsan to glean facts about the case.
Sources said in the initial findings Rs2,086,500 had been found embezzled, but the amount could exceed as further investigation of files and documents was still being carried out.
The wrongdoing came to the fore on July 12 last when Kamran Rasheed, an employee of the council, applied for the CP fund. After being exposed, they said, the cashier confessed on an affidavit that he had embezzled the amount in question.
Sajid had hired the services of a professional sign–copier who used to do all forged signs. In an effort to save himself from any adverse action by the council, they said, Sajid promised to return Rs200,000 immediately and accordingly deposited the amount with a bank in CP fund account No 078-3 on July 13.
He also promised to deposit another Rs500,000 on July 21 and the remaining amount in the last week of July, they said, adding that he later disappeared and was still at large.
Sources said Sajid had bought property and was also into the business of bonds. He had shares and was also running rent-a-car business too.
Earlier in the 1990s, they disclosed that Sajid together with Javed Iqbal, the accountant, had embezzled some amount but both were restored to their offices and let off the hook.
PCA account officer Misbah had also been suspended from service on different charges since 2004. Since then no professional account officer had been hired and different officials of the art council serving as accounts officers. Those who had served as accounts officers are Iqbal Khalid, Imran Younis and Khwaja Nazar.
Sources said no audit of the accounts of the PAC had been carried out for the last four years. The question was raised several times that how the executive directors could ignore that the cheques had their forged signatures.
