LAHORE - An accountability court on Monday granted 15-day physical remand of Paragon City Director Qaiser Amin Butt to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Paragon Housing Society scam.
The accused has been facing charges of involvement in the commission of offences of corruption and corrupt practices in alleged connivance with co-accused Nadeem Zia and others in Paragon City (Pvt) Limited.
During the hearing, NAB Prosecutor requested the Accountability Court to grant a 15-day physical remand of the accused, which was granted.
Qaisar Amin Butt was arrested by NAB on November 14, 2018 on the charges of launching an illegal housing scheme known as “Paragon City (Pvt) Ltd in connivance with Nadeem Zia and others during the year 2005 on the basis of forged and fabricated documents in alleged connivance of the TMA Aziz Bhatti Town, Lahore officials.”
Around 89 affectees approached NAB Lahore for redress of their complaints and compensation of their financial losses.
Nine more stenographers arrested by NAB
The National Accountability Bureau on Monday arrested nine more people who got recruited in the police department as stenographers by using fake and forged documents.
A spokesman for the anti-graft authority claimed that they launched investigations into the bogus staffing scandal after appointments of at least 22 stenographers were found illegal.
A total of 272 stenographers were recruited (from 2011 to 2013) in the police department out of which 22 were appointed illegally. “They had neither applied for the said post nor did they appear for examination conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission,” the spokesman said.
Lahore NAB officials on Monday arrested 9 stenographers after cancellation of their pre-arrest bails. They would be produced before Accountability Court on Tuesday for physical remand and further investigations.
The accused stenographers were identified as Rashid Mahmood, Abdul Qayyum, Mehmood-ul-Hassan, Muhammad Shahid Ameen, Abid Maqbool, Yasir Ali, Rehan Anwar, Muhammad Naeem Aslam and Faisal Mushtaq.
According to NAB officials, the authority ordered investigations into the recruitment scandal on receipt of a source report which further revealed that during the year 2011-13 a total of 272 Stenographers had recruited by the Punjab Police in which 22 Stenographers were appointed illegally and unlawfully.
The NAB officials arrested another seven Stenographers on October 12 and they were sent on judicial remand by Lahore Accountability Court.
CASE REFERRED TO NAB
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar here yesterday referred to NAB the matter of recovery of salary from former chairman of Pemra Absar Alam.
Earlier, the Lahore High Court had invalidated the appointment of Absar Alam following which the matter of taking back Rs50million, which he had received as salaries, cropped up.