LAHORE - National Accountability Bureau chairman Nawaid Ahsan has approved the conversion of inquiry into investigation against Hamesh Khan, former president of the Bank of Punjab, and his eight co-accused, the sources in the NAB said here on Wednesday. He took this decision while presiding over the meeting of Executive Board wherein a number of important cases were considered including Hamesh Khan and the Bank of Punjab. It is worth mentioning here that accused Hamesh Khan was arrested a few days back from his residence by some officials (whose identity was yet to be established) and there was general perception among the people that he was arrested by the NAB authorities but the NAB was continuously denying the arrest. On a question, a senior official seeking anonymity said that the inquiry against Hamesh Khan and the Bank of Punjab was underway for a couple of months back and it was being made with out detaining accused Hamesh Khan. The NAB did not feel any need to arrest him as he was attending inquiry process regularly, he said. During inquiry process, the NAB only arrests those accused about whom it has doubts that he would leave the country or would disappear from the scene, he added. He said that there were no such doubts about Hamesh Khan and he was not detained by the NAB, he further told. The co-accused with Hamesh Khan included Azizul Hamid, Haroon Aziz, Muhammad Shoaib, Shiekh Muhammad Afzal, Muhammad Munir, Irfan Ahamd Sheikh, Waris Malik and Ali Ijaz who were charged with disbursal of financial facilities in fake and fictitious accounts and other financial mismanagement to the tune of Rs 9 billions approximately. To a question, a senior NAB official said that investigation was the next stage of the inquiry and it was started when the NAB authorities felt that there were solid grounds to start investigations against some one and then after consultation of legal experts investigations were started.