KARACHI: Former provincial police officer Ghulam Haider Jamali with a former senior police officer escaped from the Sindh High Court premises on Tuesday after the SHC dismissed their pre-arrest bail applications in a corruption reference.

The National Accountability Bureau had Eled a corruption reference against the former IG of Sindh and other police officials last year for allegedly making illegal appointments by misusing their authority in the Sindh Reserve Police (SRP) in Hyderabad during 2013-14, causing a loss of Rs500 million to the nationalexchequer.

After hearing arguments from both sides, a two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro dismissed the pre-arrest bail applications of the former IG, former SSP of SRP Hyderabad Ghulam Nabi Keerio, DSP Mir Mohammad Dharejo and sub-inspectors Ghulam Raza, Abdul Qadir and Raja Ishtiaq while interim bail of accountant Ayaz Memon was confirmed.

However, the former IG and SSP fled shortly after the pronouncement of bail order while the remaining four officials were arrested by NAB personnel.

A spokesman for NAB said that efforts were being made to arrest the former IG and SSP.

Initially, the Supreme Court had appointed three-member fact-finding committees to identify illegalities in recruitment and later, in the light of the committees` recommendations, the apex court had referred the matter to NAB to investigate the scam.

The reference is pending trial before an accountability court in Karachi while former assistant inspector general Syed Fida Hussain Shah is already in prison in the present reference.