Court grants 5-day physical remand of Zamir Abbasi in Yellow Line BRT corruption case

An anti-corruption court on Tuesday granted five-day physical remand of Zameer Abbasi in connection with the Yellow Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corruption case.

According to details, the former project director (PD) of the Karachi Mobility Project (KMP) was produced before the court where the investigating officer sought his 14-day physical remand for interrogation.

At the outset of the hearing, the investigation officer informed the court that Abbasi had been arrested in Lahore and brought to Karachi on transit remand. He said the team had obtained a four-day transit remand to shift the accused.

The court asked whether any other suspects had been arrested in the case, to which the investigation officer replied that efforts are under way to apprehend another suspect.

The officer told the court that the accused was required for investigation, adding that advance payments had been made to the contractor of the project.

During the proceedings, the court asked the suspect whether he had been subjected to torture in custody. Abbasi told the court that he had been under detention since June 11.

The investigating officer, however, maintained that the suspect was formally arrested on June 22 and transit remand was obtained the same day. The court subsequently sought the arrest memo from the officer.

After the prosecution concluded its arguments, the defence counsel argued that the FIR alleged corruption worth Rs8.5 billion but lacked supporting evidence.

The defence further contended that Abbasi had been arrested on June 11, despite the FIR being lodged on June 10, and claimed there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations.

The counsel also questioned the basis of the inquiry, arguing that under the law only the anti-corruption department could conduct such an investigation, while also terming the arrest unlawful.