PESHAWAR:
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has dismissed the bail applications of suspects accused of embezzling 3,300 bags of wheat from the Azakhel wheat storage facility. The hearing was conducted by Justice Syed Arshad Ali, with the suspects’ lawyers, Additional Director of Food Imran Jadoon, Additional Advocate General Inaam Yousafzai, and other officials in attendance.
The defense argued that suspect Arshad was serving as a storage officer in Azakhel, while Talha Muhammad was a former employee. They are accused of misappropriating wheat worth millions of rupees, but, according to the defense, other individuals were also implicated in the case. The lawyers maintained that there were no criminal charges or concrete evidence against their clients, whose duties were limited to maintaining records.
The Additional Advocate General informed the court that the Chief Justice had already rejected the bail petitions of other accused in the same case. He said that 3,300 bags of wheat had gone missing from the storage facility, causing a loss of over Rs190 million to the national exchequer.
The defense countered that no shortage occurred during their clients’ tenure and that documentary evidence supported this. They also offered to personally bear the cost of weighing the wheat stock.
Additional Director of Food Imran Jadoon told the court that while the paperwork appeared in order, the stock was found short, and a letter had been sent to the Chief Secretary requesting a high-level inquiry. The Additional Advocate General added that two other suspects had withdrawn their bail applications from the Supreme Court after rejection.
With the trial ongoing in the lower court, the PHC dismissed the current bail applications, keeping the accused in custody.
