PESHAWAR, Jan 25: An accountability court here on Tuesday indicted a former director general of Provincial Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Perra) and seven others including his wife in a corruption reference.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge and decided to stand trial.

The court presided over by Afsar Khan fixed Feb 12 for next hearing and also summoned 21 prosecution witnesses. The special prosecutor, Lajbar Khan, appeared for the NAB.

In the reference, the NAB(KP) alleged that former Perra DG Nasir Azam in connivance with other officials had changed the PC-I meant for provision of tractors in some areas devastated by the 2005 earthquake in Mansehra. It is alleged that the former director general awarded the contract to a firm belonging to his wife.

It was alleged that the said tractors were not feasible for the areas and had thus inflicted a loss of Rs16.30 million, which was a crime under the NAB Ordinance.

Meanwhile, another accountability court acquitted a forest officer charged with maliciously concealing facts and giving false statement in an earlier case in which he was a prosecution witness.

The court presided over by Mr Kausar Abbas Zaidi accepted an application filed by the accused, Syed Baqir Shah, under section 265-K of the Criminal Procedure Code, under which the court is empowered to acquit an accused person at any stage of the trial keeping in view the evidence on record.

The NAB had filed reference against the accused on Dec 3, 2010, wherein it was alleged that he turned a hostile witness in another reference filed against 15 persons including a divisional forest officer, Bahadur Sher and others. It was alleged that with malicious intentions he deviated from his earlier statement which helped the accused persons, which was a crime under section 31 (a) of the NAB Ordinance.

Advocate Saleem Shah Hoti appeared for the accused and contended that in the earlier reference, the said 15 accused were acquitted on Dec 14, 2009.

He argued that under section 31(a) a reference could be filed against a witness within 30 days after he turned hostile, however, in present case it was filed after around a year.