Ex-education CEO handed over to police

Duty Judge Waqar Ahmad Sidhu on Saturday granted a two-day physical remand of former chief executive officer of the Rawalpindi District Education Authority Amanullah Cheena and clerk Arshad Mehmood in a corruption case involving Rs36.58 million.

Both were presented in court following their arrest by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).

The court rejected the ACE investigation team's request for a seven-day remand and ordered the suspects to be presented again on June 25 after completion of initial interrogation.

According to the FIR, the accused caused financial loss to the national exchequer through alleged corruption in procurement of furniture, stationery, and IT equipment.

Orders were issued to two companies—M/s Malik Traders and M/s Kamran Enterprises—who were paid in full, but under-supplied the contracted goods.

Details in the FIR alleged that Rs2.5 million was paid for stationery, Rs2.88 million for furniture, and Rs2.68 million were paid for IT equipment.

The anti-corruption prosecutor claimed Rs1.74 million worth of furniture and Rs1.91 million worth of IT items were not delivered.

Defence lawyers opposed the remand, stating that the supplies were being delivered in phases and no corruption had occurred.

They termed the case politically motivated, claiming that Amanullah Cheena, a Grade-19 officer, was arrested even before the FIR was registered—18 hours after his detention.

They argued that instead of physical remand, the accused should be sent to jail on judicial remand, asserting their full cooperation with the investigation.

Meanwhile, the investigation has expanded to include eight other education officials and two presidents of the All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA), who have been issued summons with a warning of arrest in case of non-compliance.

Those summoned include Deputy Education Officers Muhammad Nabeel Naqvi, Dr Gul Ahmed, and Habibullah; Senior Headmasters Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Sajjad; Admin Officer Muhammad Irfan; Administrator of Government Hudaibiya Education Complex; Legal Officer Kamran Saeed; and APCA Presidents Raja Aftab and Irshad Ahmed.

The issuance of a large number of summons has reportedly caused unrest within the education department, prompting many officials to seek political backing.

According to the ACE team, all summoned officials have refused to testify against Amanullah Cheena or become approvers.