ACE takes two years to probe grocery theft in Adiala Jail

RAWALPINDI: The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Rawalpindi, has claimed to have finalised an inquiry report of grocery theft case in the Adiala Jail and it would be made public next week.

Two years ago, the Punjab government had given a grocery theft case to the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Rawalpindi, for inquiry. The grocery theft case inquiry was started by ACE on October 22, 2018. Some serious allegations had been levelled by a senior clerk of Adiala Jail, Javaid Iqbal, regarding the alleged theft of grocery items from the jail and being sold in local markets. He maintained that on Oct 22, 2018, a van had loaded grocery items, including rice, ghee and pulses from the jail’s store room and dumped at a private store situated just opposite to the gate number five.

The senior clerk has also claimed that the storekeeper, Ahmed Hanan, in collusion with Jail Superintendent Mansoor Akhtar, had been stealing the grocery items, including rice, sugar, cooking oil, tea and others, which were the official ration of jail inmates. He claimed that a red Suzuki pick-up, registration no RIL-2858, had was also seen loading mentioned items under the guise of sacks of left-over bread to a nearby store owned by a private contractor, Raja Mazhar. He also claimed that the transportation of these items could be seen on CCTV footage, and the CCTV video had already gone viral on social media. Javed also accused that as retaliation, the owner of the private store had filed a complaint to the local police accusing him of stealing money. Inspector General of Punjab Prisons, Shahid Saleem Baig, had ordered an inquiry soon after the incident occurred and tasked the DIG Prisons, Naveed Rauf, to investigate the matter. The case had also been given to the ACE, Rawalpindi, for official proceedings but the concerned department had failed to finalise the final report, even though more than two years had already passed. The ACE inquiry officer, Zahid Zahoor, told ‘The News’ that they have almost completed their investigation and going to the Adiala Jail on Tuesday for final statements and then they would go to Lahore to present the final report of the case. He admitted delays, saying it was a sensitive matter as “responsible people will face strict legal action”. He said the ACE would make public the final report next week.