ISLAMABAD - The Ministry of Interior has placed Additional Director Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Sajjad Mustafa Bajwa under suspension on charges of compromising the on-going inquiry on the sugar crisis.
The ministry in a notification only said that the additional director FIA had been suspended with immediate effect from April 21 and until further orders, following the approval of the competent authority. However, the order didn’t mention any specific charges against the officer.
According to official sources in FIA, the officer while posted as additional director cybercrime in FIA’s Lahore Zone was assisting the Inquiry Commission on sugar crisis and has been suspended on allegations of leaking information to some sugar mills owners.
The Commission headed by Director General FIA Wajid Zia is holding a forensic audit of some sugar mills to probe the skyrocketing prices of sugar in the country last year. It is also investigating charges of hoarding of sugar, off-the-books sales of the commodity allegedly by the sugar mills, and of benefiting from the “unjustified” export policy of the government.
Mr Bajwa is also facing charges of creating hurdles in the inquiry by using delaying tactics, an official of FIA said. Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered the commission to complete its investigations and submit a report to it by April 25.
According to FIA, the additional director has been suspended on the recommendations of the head of the Inquiry Commission after an initial investigation found that there was sufficient evidence against the officer for compromising the inquiry.
The initial probe found that additional director was leaking information to some sugar mill owners to benefit them in the on-going inquiry. Moreover, the FIA officer also misled the inquiry commission by reporting false details as the commission found contradictions between information provided by Bajwa and other independent sources.
