It seems indignantly ludicrous that some corrupt influential TSOs have managed to play hide and seek in paying back what they have looted from the State exchequer and continue to be enjoying immunity from being jailed. The prudent corollary would, in the event of any further evading tactics be, to immediately cause their personal assets to be sold to receive the thieved amount which comes to over Rs. 24 lakh as they were found neck deep involved in misappropriating over 86000 litres of subsidized kerosene oil.
Had a surprise inspection conducted by the Anti Corruption Bureau not been made, perhaps gross misappropriation of 86680 litres of subsidized kerosene oil valuing lakhs of Rupees in Tariath area of Kalakote tehsil of Rajouri district would have not been known. Invoking the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, the Anti Corruption Bureau registered an FIR. The daring modus operandi of the fraud perpetrated by the concerned corrupt officials of the Food and Supplies Department was in a manner that while 2263680 litres of kerosene had been shown ‘allotted’ to the dealers of Tariath and adjoining areas, dealers in fact had received only 177000 litres which means 86680 litres were misappropriated and sold at a premium and the booty distributed among the perpetrators of the scam, the concerned TSOs. Thus, these officials abused their official positions to loot public money which they have managed not to repay, other legal action against them notwithstanding.
Such a dishonest and criminal act is a double edged weapon . Firstly, the targeted beneficiaries for whom this subsidized kerosene was purported to have been supplied by the Food and Supplies Department were criminally denied their due or were made to pay more to get the same from sources where these corrupt officials managed to sell that oil for making pecuniary gains. Secondly, plans and schemes of the Government to help the deserving by selling them kerosene at prices lower than ruling in the open market by offering subsidy got torpedoed and aborted by the acts of these Government employees. Instead of being loyal to their employers, viz; the State Government, these employees proved unworthy of the trust reposed in them by the Government.
It is learnt that a departmental enquiry into the scam was initiated and a committee framed to investigate the entire scam which has found in its finding, total involvement of the concerned employees, who at the outset, were asked to deposit the amount of loss caused to the state treasury which they have failed to do. We, therefore, urge the administration to immediately arrange recovering the amount of embezzlement from the accused employees by subjecting their personal assets caused to be sold and thus send a stern massage that corrupt practices and corruption were never going to be tolerated.
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