RAWALPINDI: Finally the police, investigating into alleged theft of foreign currency from the FIA office, arrested former Mandra police SHO and a head constable and recovered Rs65.7 million out of Rs100 million embezzled by the two police officials and their civilian accomplice.

The arrested SHO and the head constable, have been remanded in police custody for four days. After the completion of their physical remand, they would be produced in the court of law.

SSP Operations Hafiz Kamran Asghar revealed this on Tuesday during a press briefing, held at the Police Lines Headquarters.

However, the raids were underway to arrest the civilian as the remaining amount was to be recovered from him.

He said that it was such a case which caused embarrassment for the police department. But it has been solved after a collaborative inquiry by the FIA and the Rawalpindi police.

“The three, including former SHO, head constable and the civilian had equally divided the embezzled amount of Rs100 million,” the SSP said.

He said after the FIA had lodged a complaint against Mandra police, nine police officials and a civilian were booked and later investigated to trace the real culprits for their alleged involvement in the embezzlement of huge sums of foreign currency – which was stolen from the FIA office by two other individuals (not the Rawalpindi police officials).

He said on May 31, 2024 Saad Anwar, a former FIA official and his accomplice Mohammad Hamza stole Rs150 million from the FIA banking commercial circle Islamabad Malkhana. As the stolen money was being taken away in a car, a police team who was conducting snap checking near Mandra Toll plaza, signaled the car to stop.

SSP said during the search the police recovered a huge sum of money from the car and arrested the two persons traveling in the car, and a case was registered against them on June 1, 2024, while Rs47,900,000 were recovered.

He further revealed that during investigation it was emerged that former SHO who had served in the police department for 22 years and head constable and a private person stole Rs100 million which was in foreign currency as well.

Since the money was stolen from the FIA office, involving a former FIA official, the case was also taken up by the FIA for investigation.

During the FIA investigation, it appeared that the total stolen money was Rs150 million instead of Rs47,900,000which was returned to the FIA by the Mandra police.

The SSP further said that the FIA registered a case against nine police officials of Mandra and a civilian person for the misappropriation of Rs100 million which led to the investigation and former SHO, head constable and a civilian. The SSP operation said that all the nine police officials booked on the complaint of FIA were not involved in the theft of money, they were only former SHO and head constable and a civilian. The rest of the police officials who were on duty at the police check post also investigated and their involvement was not found at any level.

However, SSP said that they will be discharged after the due process as the crime was not committed at the police check post.

He said that the money was embezzled by the three persons after it was shifted to the Mandra police station.

To a question, the SSP said that they would try to recover the remaining amount which he said was lying with the civilian.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2024