ISLAMABAD: National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has fired three more senior officers, including director projects, over corruption charges, The News has learnt. Just last week, three officers of Procurement Department of Nadra were sacked when they were caught red handed and later confessed to have earned millions through corruption. Now, three senior officers including director projects, deputy director projects and an assistant director projects have been sacked which makes the tally of sacked corrupt officers to at least one dozen, the sources said. According to details, one of the vendors supplying material in Nadra headquarters complained about the three officers of Nadra projects and the Vigilance Department devised a plan to catch the officers red handed. When the vendor was asked to give bribe, otherwise his contract will be cancelled, he made a video of the currency notes and also marked them. Then an audio device was placed in the pocket of the vendor who negotiated with the front men of the said officers in the car parking of a bank from where the vendor had withdrawn money to be given to the Nadra officers as bribe, the sources said. The sources added that the moment the vendor left the car, the vigilance team of the authority reached the spot and recovered the marked currency notes. The front men confessed to have collected the money for the said Nadra officers. The said Nadra officers, i.e. director projects, deputy director projects and assistant director projects were shown the evidences upon which they confessed everything, the sources said. The director projects was sacked on the spot by Chairman Nadra Usman Mobeen while the cases of other two have been sent to the relevant department and their termination letter will be issued in due course. The sources said that the modus operandi of the said officers was that whenever renovation of an office was done, bills of millions were floated by blackmailing the vendors. This was happening since last many years. Last week, one director procurement, one deputy director and a superintendent procurement based in Nadra headquarters Islamabad were sacked after they were caught red handed making embezzlement of millions of rupees in procuring hardware, software and other equipment for Nadra. Nadra’s procurement budget is around Rs800 million per year. One of the three sacked employees of Procurement Department made a confessional statement before the chairman Nadra. The sources disclosed that a racket of corrupt officers is working in Nadra and during the course of two months; at least a dozen officers have been fired on account of corruption. The recent sacking of three officers of Nadra projects is yet another blow to the corruption racket operated in Nadra, the sources said. Usman Mobeen has started an anti-corruption drive in the authority which has resulted in catching of a dozen officers red handed minting millions through corruption. Of late, the chairman Nadra has also initiated inquiry against DG Networks on account of corruption and the DG, who is under suspension now, has also offered Nadra high-ups for accepting his resignation to avoid departmental action and long arm of the law.
