SAHIWAL, Jan 5: The Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment arrested around 1,900 government employees, including 104 gazetted officers on corruption charges during the year 2004.
This was stated by ACE director-general Brig Muhammad Aslam Ghuman (retired) while talking to reporters after inaugurating a new Circle Office building here on Wednesday.
He said that the ACE had also recovered Rs700 million from the arrested officials during the period. He said courts declared around 412 employees as absconders and proclaimed offenders. Of them only 38 are still at large while the rest have been arrested.
Out of 70,000 complaints received by the ACE during the year, he said around 6,000 inquiries were still pending. In most of the cases, he said the complainants did not attend to inquiries due to which the cases were delayed for more than three months.
The Punjab government, he said, was making amendments to laws to check fake complaints. During his address to the gathering, the ACE DG gave out that he was looking for some honest officers to head the zones in Punjab.
Announcing a reward of Rs10,000 for local circle officer Shafique Khan Bloch, he said the government was encouraging the honest officers through cash rewards. Mr Ghuman pledged that Sahiwal district would be made a corruption free zone with the help and cooperation of District Nazim Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan.
DPO Malik Khuda Bukhsh Awan and DCO Mehr Muhammad Nawaz Sial also spoke on the occasion. During the address of the ACE DG, the situation became tense when MPA Rana Aftab Ahmed demanded a thorough probe into the corruption affairs of the local municipal committee.
At this, Tehsil Nazim Rana Aamir Shahzad and his MNA brother Rana Tariq Javed started abusing MPA Rana Aftab Ahmed. The squabble was about to turn into manhandling between them when MPA Malik Jalal Din Bhakkoo, Malik Nauman Ahmed Langrial and MPA Malik Iqbal Ahmed Langrial intervened and control the situation.
LOOTED: Two armed robbers injured a doctor and his friend on resistance during a robbery here on Wednesday. Dr Haq Nawaz along with his friend Fakhar Hussain was returning from his clinic by his bike when robbers intercepted them near Nalka Farm.
The bandits snatched Rs4,000 in cash from them and also took away their bike. For holding them out, the robbers opened fire on them. They received injuries and were shifted to a local hospital. Harappa police have registered a case.