Committee reports corruption, bogus inspections and fake billing across more than a dozen accounts; anti-corruption referral and Establishment Division inquiry recommended
LAHORE: A Punjab government inquiry has held the former commandant of the Police Training College (PTC), Lahore, and eight other officials responsible for financial irregularities exceeding Rs226 million, and the officer at the centre of the findings has been made an Officer on Special Duty.
Mehboob Aslam Lilla, who most recently served as DIG Elite Force, was commandant at the Chung-based college for a 32-month posting. The inquiry committee was constituted on the orders of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz after an internal audit flagged large-scale irregularities in the college’s accounts. It was headed by Additional IG Investigation Shahzada Sultan, with Welfare and Finance AIG Rana Masoom as member.
The committee’s report, seen by Dawn, used the terms corruption, bogus inspections and fake billing, and concluded that those charges were established. The report describes Lilla as the sanctioning authority and states the irregularities were effected through fabricated paperwork, inspection reports and financial entries.
According to The Asian Mirror, the concerns emerged after retired DIG Capt Sohail Chaudhry replaced Lilla as commandant in February 2026 and, on noticing apparent irregularities, recommended an internal audit. Inspector General Abdul Kareem subsequently deputed a team led by Punjab Highways Patrol DIG Raja Faisal to examine the college’s finances.
Irregularities were identified across more than twelve heads. Reported figures include Rs90.7 million from funds provided by the Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority, Rs20 million allocated for free meals for staff under training, and Rs4.1 million from training aid. Other outlets reporting from the same document put Rs169 million under training fees, PERA and customs-related heads, and Rs31 million from food and canteen revenue, with smaller sums under stationery and computer supplies (Rs3.1m), furniture and machinery (Rs9m), transport (Rs2.7m), buildings (Rs1m) and tea and coffee (Rs250,000).
Readers should note the aggregate figure varies across outlets between roughly Rs200m and Rs226m depending on which heads are included; the Rs226m figure is the one attached to the Punjab government’s action.
The report identifies contractor Yasir Ayub as a key figure, alleging he prepared bills in the names of six companies he had personally established. A senior official told Dawn that staff at the college referred to him as “deputy commandant” — a nickname reflecting the influence he was said to wield.
DSP Shahid Javed, a senior clerk/accountant, and six further PTC employees were held responsible. The report alleges Javed implemented the commandant’s orders without resistance. Action was also recommended against Inspector Mohammad Asghar in connection with forged signatures. Javed has been suspended.
The committee recommended registration of criminal cases against Ayub and accountant Shahbaz Khalid, and departmental action against Lilla, Javed and Khalid. The Punjab government has forwarded the report to Anti-Corruption Punjab Director General Sohail Zafar Chatha to initiate criminal proceedings. The panel has also recommended a regular inquiry by the Establishment Division in Islamabad — which, per Dawn, would make Lilla the first DIG-ranked police officer examined by the Division on corruption charges.
All findings are at the inquiry stage. No conviction has been recorded against any individual named.
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