LAHORE: The funds collected by Drug Court Gujranwala, reportedly stolen from the Lahore High Court (LHC) premises, remain untraceable despite the lapse of days since the filing of the first information report (FIR).
According to FIR, the incident unfolded when an employee of the Drug Court in Gujranwala arrived at the LHC early in the morning to deposit a substantial sum of money collected in the head of fine. The employee made a shocking discovery upon returning from Fajr prayer at the court’s mosque inside the LHC premises – the money, totaling Rs555,0000, had seemingly ‘vanished’ from his coat pocket.
Despite the FIR filed by the drug court employee, Furqan, allegedly nominated the employees of the contractor operating the canteen at the High Court Iqbal Lounge as accused. But the nominated accused could not be investigated and neither the fine amount was recovered till now.
The complaint points out several differences and unanswered questions, prompting demands for an unbiased probe to uncover the truth behind the alleged theft. Here the question arises as to why the Drug Court employee came to the High Court while there is a facility to deposit money in Gujranwala itself.
The timing of the employee’s coming to Lahore has also made the matter suspicious, because he came to Lahore at a time when the office hours had not started. The FIR mentions three Drug Court employees as eyewitnesses, raising concerns about their credibility since they allegedly saw the theft but didn’t act or report it promptly. Furthermore, the involvement of the court staff in the direct handling of cash transactions, which deviates from standard procedures, adds complexity to the case.
Due to these apprehensions, there should be a transparent investigation into whether the fine money is really stolen or the employees have embezzled it, because the security of the High Court has been questioned due to this one case.
