AC indicts suspects in STDC graft case

An accountability court in Karachi on Tuesday indicted former Sindh Tourism Development Corporation managing director Roshan Ali Kanasro in a corruption case. Kanasro along with other suspects appeared before the court. During the proceedings, the accused were indicted two years after the case was filed. Refusing to accept the charge sheet, the accused pleaded innocence. Later, the court ordered the National Accountability Bureau to produce the witnesses and adjourned the hearing. During the course of the investigation, it transpired that the STDC had invited tenders for the award of contracts worth Rs175 million to private contractors for purchase of furniture, repair of vehicles, event management and printing/publication, etc. The tenders were published in dummy newspapers on July 31, 2017, and most of the participating companies were fake and had been formed only to get these tenders, the prosecution added. The prosecution said that the record showed that an advertisement appeared on Aug 31, 2017, in less-known daily newspapers regarding the award of contracts/tenders to five firms — M/s Sameer Enterprises, M/s Fahad Enterprises, M/s RMA Sahita Brothers, M/s Burraq Business and M/s Total Computing Technology. However, NAB claimed that the amount awarded for tenders was largely embezzled, adding that apparently the jobs/work had been distributed among the bidding companies through a ring by the chairman of the tender committee. It added that the rates quoted by firms concerned also appeared to be exorbitant while most of the work had only been done on paper and no inventory details had been prepared by responsible officials.