SRINAGAR, Nov 23:
The Crime Branch today arrested former J&K Board of Professional Entrance Exams (JKBOPEE) chairman Mushtaq Ahmad Peer for his alleged role in selling the Common Entrance Test question paper in 2012, official sources said here .
Sources said the Crime Branch has enough evidence to prove that Peer was involved in this multi-crore scam. Peer has been questioned by CB from the last four days.
Hitting out at State Government, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti had on Friday said Chief Minister Omar Abdullah should come clean on Government role in repeated reemployment of Peer, the main accused in the scandal.
The PDP president had alleged that youths are the main victims of the coalition Government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. It is ironic that Government’s worst victims have turned out to be the youth of this State, Ms Mehbooba said adding it seems the Government is out on a mission to destroy the future of this State by targeting the youth.
Board of Professional Entrance Exams (BOPEE) conducts professional entrance tests every year in the state to select candidates for medical, engineering and other degree courses. According to sources, the students were asked to come to a hotel a day one day before the Common Entrance Test-2012. They were given the question papers at the hotel and were asked to prepare for the test next day.
But it was made sure that the students remained cut-off from the outside world. Next day, minutes before examination, they were dropped at their respective examination centers under tight vigil, source added.
The Crime Branch started an investigation following complaints about the selections made by BOPEE in 2012, as many candidates who finished at the top of the entrance test had poor academic records, sources said.
The Crime Branch had earlier raided Peer’s residences in Jammu and Srinagar. According to sources, some documents were seized. Peer’s conduct was under their scanner for a long time.
However, it was only after one of his two close associates started spilling the beans that the Crime Branch began the raids. The agency arrested an accused in the case identified as Sajjad Hussain. Another accused Farooq Ahmad Yatoo, considered to be very close to Peer, has turned an approver, a local news agency reported on Tuesday.
Ironically despite voices coming out against his conduct during his tenure as BOPEE chairman, Peer was given an extension after his retirement and reemployed as an expert in the Services Selection Board. (AGENCIES)
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