Daily Times

KARACHI: The officials of Sindh’s anti-corruption department were made hostage by the excise and taxation department officials when they conducted a raid on Motor Registration Wing of the department.

According to sources, there were strong evidence and intelligence reports that some officials of the MVR wing were involved in the registration of smuggled vehicles.

On Tuesday, a team of anti-corruption department on the directives of Chairman Anti Corruption Ghulam Qadir Thebo raided the MVR wing and tried to confiscate the official records for further investigation.

“When the team reached there the excise and taxation officials with the help of security guards and their agents overpowered the team and made them hostage for a long time. The anti-corruption team was led by Circle Officer East Imtiaz Banday, Deputy Director Farooq Jamali, and Circle Officer Malir Asad Mirani,.

The raid was made on a tip-off provided by intelligence agencies that most of the luxury vehicles smuggled from Afghanistan and other places were being registered by the MVR wing which are parked at different at showrooms.

“The excise and taxation officials don’t even bother to physically verify these vehicles and just register them,” added the source.

According to officials of anti-corruption department, a strategy in this regard was devised last week but some employees of the anti-corruption department leaked this information. “The anti-corruption establishment chairperson ordered the suspension of inspector Muhammad Ali Shah, who reportedly leaked the information,” said a senior official.

When contacted, Imtiaz Banday, Circle Officer, Anti Corruption East, he told Daily Times “we had strong evidences against the wing and when we reached there the excise and taxation officials started to fight with us and shifted all the files within minutes. We were overpowered by the armed excise officials and their agents that compelled us to ring up local police for our rescue,” said Imtiaz. When contacted DG Exice Shoiab Siddique he said that the Anti corruption did raid their office but could not find any fictitious file of any sort nor did our officers made them hostage. This is all a fabricated story.