By Shahzad Malik
ISLAMABAD: The FIA’s Anti-Corruption Circle on Thursday arrested Afnan Alam, a former member Estate of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), following the termination of interim bail in an illegal plots allotment case.
Special Court Judge Sharukh Arjamand heard the interim bail case of Afnan Alam in a first information report registered by the FIA against the CDA officials about the illegal allotment of plots.
Mr Alam is accused of abusing his authority for personal gain, resulting in huge financial loss to the national exchequer, estimated to be in the billions of rupees.
The main and important allegations against Mr Afnan Alam include the unauthorized approval of 73 plots for personal gain corruption and corrupt practices in other CDA sectors which led to huge financial loss to national exchequer.
During proceedings, the defense lawyer rejected the allegations against his client, saying that he was not in the CDA in 2017 and was appointed as DG Land on July 19, 2021.
He said that as per the FIR, the Member State was supposed to be investigated, while his client was not posted at that slot. Petitioner Afnan Alam said that neither he was served any notice nor was summoned for the inquiry.
He said that the FIA had stated that the inquiry had been completed and if it were so then why the Agency required his client’s custody.
Afnan Alam could not go abroad without permission as he was a government servant, he added. Afnan Alam stated that he was not part of the allotment process, as only balloting of the plots was done during his tenure.
Moreover, the co-accused had already been granted bails by the high court. The petitioner said that as per corruption rules, misuse of authority was not a crime, and prayed the court to confirm his bail saying that he was innocent in the case.
The FIA’s prosecutor said that the Agency required custody of the accused as it wanted more investigation from him. The applications for plots were submitted in 2017 and processed in 2022 during the tenure of Afnan Alam.
Some 62 plots were allotted illegally, he added. After hearing arguments from two sides, the court terminated the interim bail of DG Land CDA.
The court, after hearing to detailed and heated arguments from both the defense and prosecution, ruled out against the extension in the bail, leading to Mr. Alam’s immediate arrest by the FIA Joint Investigation Team (JIT) led by In-charge Afzal Khan Niazi, Assistant Director Malik Sajid Mehmood, and Inspector Zahid Bhatti.
Mr Alam will be presented in the court for physical remand while the FIA Islamabad is conducting raids to apprehend other accused involved in the case.
