PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has formally launched an inquiry against former director of the provincial AntiCorruption Establishment Ziaullah Toru over several complaints of its officials and contractors about harassing people and illegally recovering money from them.

Mr Toru was transferred from his post earlier this month following the reports of tussle with chief secretary Amjad Ali Khan after he launched probe about the provincial government`s flagship Billion Tree Tsunami afforestation programme.

He has taken the row with the chief secretary to the Peshawar High Court and challenged his transfer orders, saying it was based on mala fide intentions as he was investigating the brother of the chief secretary about the Billion Tree Tsunami project.

A senior government official requesting anonymity told Dawn that around 75 FIRs had been registered against the former ACE director across the province for harassing and illegally receiving huge amounts of money from scores of people, companies and contractors.

He said Mr. Toru allegedly made illegal recoveries worth Rs100 million from contractors working on government development schemes and that after making those payments, the contractors stopped work on their respective projects.

`Work on many of these projects, including construction of roads in Karak, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan, Torghar and Tank districts, construction of schools in Buner and Battagram districts, and establishment of healthcentresinAbbottabad district has completely stalled,` he said.

The official said several people from Peshawar, Kohat, Swabi, Malakand, Dera Ismail Khan, Swabi and Nowshera districts had registered FIRs against the former ACE director over illegal activities.

He said a reference about the anti-graft body`s probe into the Peshawar Museum`s affairs had been sent to the National Accountability Bureau.

At least 12 FIRs, whose copies are available with Dawn, show an irrigation department`s official and contractors have approached the police to register FIRs against Mr. Toru in Dera Ismail Khan, Swabi and Nowshera districts, while four people have got FIR registered against him in Malakand district.