NAB apprehends BSEK chairman over corruption charges

The arrest comes weeks after ACE carried out a three-day raid at city’s intermediate board office that later led to the arrest of its deputy exams controller

Karachi

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday arrested Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK) Chairman, Anwar Ahmed Zai, over charges of corruption and misuse of his official powers. He would be presented in court on Friday (today).

According to NAB spokesperson, Zameer Abbasi, the investigative agency had been probing Zai’s alleged involvement in embezzlement of funds, illegal appointments and influencing examination boards, including the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Mirpurkhas.

His accomplices were also being searched for, the NAB official claimed, without mentioning names or designations of the accused.

The NAB’s statement maintained that complaints were registered from Mirpurkhas board; the name(s) and identity of complainant(s) were not shared with the media.

As per unverified reports Zai was to visit NAB’s office and have his statement recorded, and sign documents as witness to some other corruption case. However, on failing to pay the investigative agency’s office a visit for three days straight the officials took him into custody from the examination board’s building.

In October 2015, BIEK chairman Mohammad Akhtar Ghauri – appointed after Zai - had blamed the former management of the examination board for selling top positions.

He had called on the Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) to start probing the board's irregularities. He had further alleged that all important files pertaining to recruitment, postings and transfers, besides financial and administrative affairs, were also stolen from the board’s office.

Not just that, records of former BIEK chairman Anwar Ahmed Zai and present controller of examinations, Muhammad Imran Khan Chishti, were stolen from offices, the BIEK chairman had then claimed.

Back then, Ghauri had further alleged that NAB and ACE had sought recruitment, financial and administrative records to ascertain embezzlements in fund, which were provided to both the agencies.

Following Ghauri’s complaints, the ACE had raided office of the BIEK in October 2015 but returned all documents it has seized after 10 months, neither were any official reports regarding the case were made public.

In the second major crackdown against Karachi-based examination boards in August, this time the ACE started a fresh investigation against affairs of the BIEK after accusing them of selling top positions of yet to be declared result of the pre-medical group.

During a three-day long raid and frequent other visits of ACE officials’ one person was arrested while answer-sheets of around 94 candidates were seized.

A week later, deputy controller of examinations BIEK, Muhammad Dabeer, was arrested late in the night but released the next day since he had obtained a pre-arrest bail.

The deputy controller was alleged to be involved in result tempering along with his staff, the ACE claimed, but nobody else was arrested.

Zai was appointed BSEK chairman after he had served as BIEK chairman for six yearsm he also had the additional charge of Mirpurkhas’ examination boards during this time.