KARACHI – An anti-corruption court sentenced a Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) member and two others to four years in prison on Saturday on corruption charges. Judge Rashida Asad of the special anti-corruption court sentenced SPSC member Ramesh Udeshi as well as Rehana Minaj and Shahid Ahmed Khan to two years imprisonment in two separate offences.
The court also directed all the accused to pay Rs 50,000 each as fine, and failing to pay the same would result in additional six months in prison. Udeshi, who is also a former Sindh Land Utilisation Department member, was charged with allotting some 20 acres of State land to Minaj and Khan in 1994, and despite the fact that a ban exists on all such allotments, the land was sold at a throwaway price.
FIR No 27/2001 was registered under Sections 409, 420, 468 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the Anti-Corruption Establishment police station. In Saturday’s final arguments, the defence lawyers contended that the accused are innocent as all legal formalities were fulfilled before allotment of the land in question.
Thus, the allotment was made in accordance with the law, they said, and pleaded for acquittal of their clients. Public Prosecutor Arif Sitai argued that all the prosecution witnesses had fully implicated the accused persons and the documentary evidence provided by the prosecution had further strengthened the case. He concluded that the prosecution was successful in proving the charges against the accused beyond the shadow of a doubt.
He implored the court to convict the accused for the offences they were charged with.
Following the hearing, the judge ordered all accused people, who were present before the court on bail, to be sent to jail.
Sindh Public Service Commission member, 2 others get four years for selling govt land
