Accountability Court Lahore-III Judge Ali Hassan Rizvi on Saturday again gave custody of Pakistan Railways General Manager Saeed Akhtar, involved in a scrap sale scandal, to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by extending his physical remand till April 28.
A special cell constituted by NAB to investigate corruption cases in PR had arrested Akhtar for misuse of authority and alleged involvement in a scrap scandal. The NAB officials producing Saeed Akhtar before the court sought extension in his physical remand to investigate the matter further. Counsel for NAB informed the court that the accused had made private property by making money by corrupt means and he sold railway scrape costing Rs 70 million in Rs 20 million and took kickbacks from the scrape buyers.
However Saeed’s counsel pleaded that his client was innocent, his past was clean and he had never been involved in any corruption. He said the property that Saeed was being alleged to have made by corruption was the property that his father left behind in inheritance. He told the court it was true scrape worth Rs 70 million was sold in Rs 20 million but it was done because department urgently needed the money. The department was going through hard times and it could not wait for good rate for the scrape, the counsel pleaded.
After hearing arguments of defence counsel the judge, Ali Hassan Rizvi, directed NAB officials to conduct fair investigation in the matter. “I do not want you to come to court on next date claiming that even cooking utensils in the accused home were also purchase by the corruption money,” the judge mocked the typical attitude of NAB investigators. The court, extending Saeed’s remand in NAB custody for 15 days, adjourned hearing till April 28.
