PESHAWAR: The National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has arrested five people, including a former Workers Welfare Board chairman and Provincial Housing Authority (PHA) director (finance) on the charge of misusing authority by illegally awarding contracts for the supply of over Rs3.5 billion equipment.

The suspects include former WWB chairman Aizazur Rehman, director (finance) Mohammad Ibrar Hussain, PHA director (finance) Mohammad Imran Wazir, Ashraf Enterprises owner Mohammad Akbar Awan and contractorIrfan Qureshi.

They were produced before an accountability court`s judge, Ibrahim Khan, who remanded them in the NAB custody for 12 days.

WWB former secretary Tariq Awan and some other officials have already been arrested by the NAB in the case.

NAB prosecutor Daniyal Chamkani appeared with the suspects and alleged that they were involved in illegal award of contracts for the procurement of equipment including generators, vacuum cleaners, hrst aid box, fans, ñber glass rooms, etc. through fake and nonregistered firms at highly exorbitant rates to the tune of over Rs3.5 billion approximately and had caused huge loss tostateexchequeronaccountof short and substandard supply.

He said the investigation discovered that suspect Aizazur Rehman with mala fide intention delegated all his administrative and financial powers to the prime accused Tariq Awan thus illegally handing himoverallaffairs ofthe board.

He said the prime accused in connivance with other accused persons opened hidden bank account and useditfortheirillegalactivities.

He added that all the illegal payments to the un-registered and fake supply firms were made through the account.

The NAB has claimed both the suspects, including Imran Khan and Mohammad Abrar, remained the WWB director (finance) and had issued cheques in connivance with other accused for payments to the fraudulent contractors and thus willfully failing to exercise their authority to prevent loss to the kitty.

Suspects Arsalan Qureshi and Mohammad Akbar Awan allegedly secured contracts for supply of equipment at highly exorbitant rates through active connivance of WWB of ficials.

Some firms were unregistered and did not have prior experience of supplying equipment to government departments.SUSPECT ARRESTED: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (KPEC) has arrested the owner of a private firm, Sajjad Ahmad, on the charge of supplying substandard material at exorbitant rate to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation.

The suspect was produced before an Ehtesab court comprising judge Subhan Sher Khan on Wednesday and was remanded in the custody of the commission for 14 days.

Additional deputy prosecutor general Lajbar Khan and prosecutor Qaisar Khan told the court that an EPI deputy director and clerk had already been arrestedin the case.

According to them, the suspect was awarded contract for the provision of 700 stabilisers needed to maintain cool chain of anti-polio vaccinesin different districts due to low voltage.

However, the relevant authorities in most districts returned stabilisers after they went out of order due to poor quality.