LAHORE: Punjab’s anti-corruption watchdog on Sunday registered a case against former chief minister Pervez Elahi’s former principal secretary Muhammad Khan Bhatti for allegedly accepting bribe.
In a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE), Bhatti is accused of taking over Rs 460 million in bribes from officials of the provincial highway department. SDO Highway Police Rana Muhammad Iqbal has already been arrested on charges of bribery while ACE has also initiated proceedings to arrest Bhatti on charges of corruption.
In the FIR, it is said that Iqbal Bhatti was bribed to get the posts of his choice.
“Several officials from the Department of Communications and Construction were working for Mohammad Khan Bhatti,” he added. The FIR further states that the role of other officials of the department will also be investigated.
The development comes a day after the former Punjab chief minister’s driver and gunman were arrested in Islamabad for carrying liquor bottles.
The police claimed that the accused gave an envelope full of money to Fahim Mirza, an employee of Punjab House, in lieu of a briefcase containing bottles of liquor on Elahi’s instructions.
The police further said that the accused have also revealed before the magistrate that the alleged employees of Punjab House Islamabad, Faheem and Irshad, are the frontmen of the former chief minister.
They claimed that the two were involved in financial transactions for alleged frontman Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. A case has been registered against him in Islamabad’s Secretariat police station under various provisions.
