A Pakistani bureaucrat, the main accused in a PKR 8.5 billion corruption case linked to the Karachi Mobility Project's (KMP) Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Yellow Line has moved a provincial anti-corruption court seeking bail.
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The court issued notices to the prosecution and the investigating officer (IO) and fixed the next hearing for July 11. It also ordered that the prime suspect, Zameer Abbasi, be sent to jail on judicial remand.
The case was registered by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Sindh against Abbasi, a Grade-19 provincial officer who served as the KMP's director. The investigation also names former procurement director Jhaman Das and several others.
According to Dawn, the case was launched after an inquiry by the Chief Minister's Inspection, Enquiries and Implementation Team Department (CMIE&ITD) found alleged financial irregularities in the transport project.
After Abbasi's physical remand ended, investigating officer Inspector Sher Zaman produced him before the court and informed it that the preliminary investigation had been completed.
A member of the ACE's Combined Investigation Team (CIT) told the court that payments worth millions of rupees had allegedly been approved without bank guarantees, putting public funds at risk.
The court remanded Abbasi to judicial custody until July 13 and directed jail authorities to produce him via video link at the next hearing.
The case has been registered under several provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code, including those related to criminal breach of trust by a public servant, cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts, along with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
(With ANI inputs)
