PHC dismisses bail petition of Malik Naveed

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has dismissed bail petition of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Malik Naveed Khan in the multi-billion rupees scam related to procurement of weapons and vehicles for the provincial police force.
On Tuesday, the PHC chief justice announced the decision, which was reserved on March 19. The former IGP was seeking his bail on medical grounds and also the long delay in commencement of trial in the case against him.
The counsel for the petitioner submitted that his client was a heart patient and under treatment in the hospital for a long time and thus he should be released on bail.Malik Naveed was arrested for his role in the scam concerning procurement of weapons and vehicles for the police force.
His lawyer submitted that more than a year had passed for the case to proceed. He argued that his client was a heart patient and was under judicial remand. He requested the court to order his release on bail.
However, the NAB) opposed Malik Naveed’s release on bail.NAB Deputy Prosecutor General Muhammad Jamil Khan stated that there was no report by the medical board to justify his release on bail due to his heart condition. Also, he argued that the case was delayed due to the issue of summoning six police officers to the court for their alleged role in the scam.
He submitted that the former IGP had purchased substandard bulletproof jackets for the police force due to which many policemen became victim of the acts of terrorism.The NAB KP arrested Malik Naveed Khan in November 2013 on the charges of receiving kickbacks in the procurement of weapons and vehicles for the Police Department.
The provincial government had approved the purchase of weapons and equipment to counter the challenge posed by terrorists and provided more than Rs7 billion for the purpose.
The NAB claimed that during inquiry it was revealed that gross violation of procurement rules was committed by the purchase committee in awarding tenders to favourite contractors even though they had no experience of supplying such items and for which payments were made in advance.
In the instant case, private contractor Arshad Majeed and budget officer of police Javed Khan were arrested on February 21, 2013 but the former was released on bail by the high court after he turned approver and agreed to voluntarily return Rs102 million.