Two held after Rs2.1bn meant for motorway construction 'vanishes'.

HYDERABAD -- For almost a month, a bureaucrat posted in Sindh's MatAiari district inconspicuously managed to withdraw over Rs2.1 billion - earmarked for the construction of a motAoArAway - before the scandal was unearthed, it has emerged.

At the centre of the scandal are two bureaucrats - Matiari Deputy CommiAssAiAoAner Mohammad Adnan and Saeedabad Assistant ComAmAiAssAioner Mansoor Abbasi - and the Saeedabad branch of Sindh Bank.

Hyderabad's Anti-CorruApAtion Establishment (ACE) on Thursday arrested the MatiAari DC and obtained his three-day remand, while a case has also been registeAred. However, the Saeedabad AC is still at large.

Details indicate that over Rs2.14bn was withdrawn from the Sindh Bank branch in Saeedabad through open bearer cheques, under the pretext of land acquisition for the Hyderabad-Sukkur M6 motorway.

However, no procedural requirements were met before the withdrawals were made.

As per rules, a Land AcqAuAiAsition Award has to be pasAsed under Section 11 of Land Acquisition Act, 1894 to initiate the process. Such an award is passed for acquiring land for any purpose, in lieu of compensation, is to be paid to the concerned individual or party after meeting due requirements.

The National Highway Authority (NHA) had deposited Rs2.70bn in a Sindh Bank account titled 'DC Matiari Land Acquisition'. However, between Oct 17 and Nov 11, AC Abbasi - who was also the land acquisition officer - withdrew Rs2.14bn in cash through various cheques, according to documents seen by Dawn.

However, no trace of the withdrawn money has yet been found.

The DC Matiari and AC Saeedabad could only provide partial records for land acquisition proceedings, including records of correspondence and payments from National Highway Authority (NHA), and the land acquisition record for payments of...