Pakistan: Sindh to seek Interpol help to bring back official named in multimillion rupee motorway scam
Corruption case related to the construction of M-6 Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway
Karachi: The Sindh government is approaching the federal authorities in Islamabad to seek Interpol’s help for issuance of a Red Notice to catch a former official involved in a multimillion rupee motorway scam.
The provincial Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) move comes after the deputy commissioner of Naushahro Feroze District has been named in a corruption case related to the construction of M-6 Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway.
The ACE has already arrested the Deputy Commissioner of Matiari district and some other officials for their alleged involvement in the scam. The scandal pertains to the allegations that millions of rupees, provided by the government for procuring land for constructing the M-6 motorway, have been embezzled by officials.
At a press briefing, spokesman for the Sindh government Barrister Murtaza Wahab said that Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had taken notice of the scam after details emerged on social media on November 13 this year.
Wahab said the CM had asked the provincial Chief Secretary to form a fact-finding committee to probe the matter as the initial investigation had confirmed that serious irregularities and misappropriation had taken place in handling the funds meant for procuring the land for the upcoming motorway project.
He said that on the basis of the initial findings, the government had constituted joint investigation teams (JITs) comprising senior officials to further probe the matter as the JITs had also confirmed embezzlement had taken place in this case.
On the basis of the findings of the JITs, the ACE had lodged criminal cases and begun investigation to find out officials with whose connivance the public funds had been embezzeled.
The government had ordered the officials concerned to freeze funds provided for procuring the land for the M-6 project in six districts of the province.
The ACE had already recovered Rs420 million out of the embezzled funds after the arrest of the accused officials in District Matiari.
Wahab said the prompt action by the provincial government had saved the public exchequer from greater losses as the probe into the case would continue till all the accused persons, irrespective of their status or influence, are brought to book.