QHAMC parking contractor held on corruption charges

NOWSHERA: The officials of local Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) on Tuesday raided Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex (QHAMC) and arrested the parking contractor on charges of causing a loss of over Rs8.8 million to the provincial kitty.

The ACE has also registered cases against the contractor and four former hospital directors for allegedly embezzling funds and causing financial loss to the government.

QHAMC spokesperson Syed Kastir Gul said that the raid was headed by Assistant Director Sehat Ali Khan, from the Anti-Corruption Department.

He said the raid was conducted on the directives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry and secretary Health after thorough investigation into the alleged embezzlement of Rs8.8 million in the hospital’s parking contract.

The parking contractor Rizwanullah, a resident of Charsadda, was arrested, who had initially secured the parking contract in 2017 at a monthly rent of Rs818,000. It was later revealed that four hospital directors named Dr Wasim Yar Khan, Dr Anzala, Dr Muhammad Ali and Dr Arif Khan illegally took over the contract and operated it themselves without a contractor, causing the provincial coffer a loss of Rs8.8 million.

An inquiry was launched under the Anti-Corruption Act, during which a detailed audit was conducted and evidence was collected. A case was registered under the Anti-Corruption Act and sections 419, 420, 468, and 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The contractor was arrested while the four hospital directors have gone into hiding.It was reported that some of the accused had obtained pre-arrest bail.It was revealed during the investigation that Rizwanullah had requested for the cancellation of the contract after three months following which, the hospital directors started managing the parking lot illegally.