PESHAWAR: The Accountability Court on Saturday sent an accused nominated in a multi-million rupees embezzlement scandal related to the procurement of medicines for government hospitals to jail on judicial remand.
The case was heard by Accountability Judge Muhammad Hamid Mughal. During the hearing, the accused, Khurshid Ali, was produced before the court. Counsel for the accused, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutors, and the investigation officer also appeared.
The NAB investigation officer told the court that the accused, Khurshid Ali, had been arrested in connection with alleged embezzlement in the Medicine Coordination Cell. He allegedly opened a fake bank account in collusion with officials of the Health Department.
According to NAB, the Health Department had approved Rs342.4 million for the purchase of medicines from a private company. Out of the amount, Rs153 million was paid to the company, while the remaining Rs184.4 million was allegedly embezzled.
The investigation officer claimed that interrogation of the accused had been completed and no further physical remand was required. The court subsequently sent the accused to jail on judicial remand.
In another case, the same court sent Khushal Khan, owner of a private construction company, arrested in the Upper Kohistan scandal, to jail on a 14-day judicial remand.
The NAB investigation officer informed the court that the accused, Khushal Khan, owned a private construction company and that more than Rs196 million in illegal transactions had been traced to his accounts. The NAB, he pleaded, was currently investigating the Rs37 billion Upper Kohistan corruption scandal.
