Education officials remanded in corruption case

Rawalpindi: Senior Civil Judge (Criminal Division) Waqar Hussain Gondal has remanded District Education Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amanullah Khan and Clerk Arshad Mahmood in custody of Anti-Corruption for 2 days in a case of alleged embezzlement of Rs 9.9 million in the purchase of furniture, IT equipment, and stationery for educational institutions.

The court directed Anti-Corruption to present the accused again in court on June 25 and inform them about the progress of the investigation. The remand was approved as a duty judge. On Monday, the Anti-Corruption Circle Officer presented CEO Amanullah Khan and Superintendent Clerk Arshad Mahmood in court, requesting a 7-day physical remand of the accused for thorough investigation and recovery of embezzled funds.

The court approved a 2-day remand, and the accused will be presented again in court on June 25. According to the investigation, Amanullah Khan and Arshad Mahmood allegedly prepared tender documents worth Rs 9.9 million without publishing them on E-Pad, and payments were made to contractors without supplying goods, causing a huge loss to the national exchequer.

The investigation team found that work orders worth Rs 2.5 million for stationery items and Rs 2.8 million for furniture were issued to M/s Malik General Order Suppliers, and Rs 2.6 million for IT equipment to M/s Kamran Enterprises. However, the goods were not supplied, and the receipt of goods was recorded in the stock register.The Anti-Corruption Establishment had registered a case against CEO Amanullah Khan and Clerk Arshad under various sections of the Anti-Corruption Act and Pakistan Penal Code.