Sanjeev Pargal JAMMU, Feb 20: Three sitting Cabinet Ministers and six former Ministers including two incumbent MLAs and a number of top bureaucrats, some of whom were holding plum posts in the present administration, have been booked by various anti-corruption bodies in Jammu and Kashmir including the State Accountability Commission and the State Vigilance Organisation. A number of bureaucrats against whom the cases were pending in anti-graft bodies, were holding significant positions in the administration including the rank of Secretary, Deputy Commissioners, Head of Departments etc. The information to this effect was today given in the Legislative Assembly by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Incharge General Administration Department (GAD) in response to two separate questions moved by CPM MLA MY Tarigami and PDP MLA Zulfikar Choudhary. According to the information, regular inquiry cases were pending against sitting Ministers including Taj Mohi-ud-Din (Medical Education), Abdul Mujeed Wani (R&B) and Choudhary Ramzan (CAPD & Transport). The case of Taj pertained to his tenure of CAPD Minister. While a regular inquiry has been initiated against Choudhary Ramzan, the record of case pertaining to Taj has been summoned by the High Court. The case of Mujeed Wani has been stayed by the High Court. The SAC had recently quashed proceedings against Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand and former Minister Ghulam Mohammad Saroori, Congress MLA from Inderwal. Former Ministers and sitting MLAs against whom the regular inquiry cases were pending with the SAC are Gulchain Singh Charak (Congress, who was facing the case during his tenure as PWD Minister), Mangat Ram Sharma, former Deputy Chief Minister (also from Congress and the case belonged to his tenure of Health and Medical Education Minister), Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Sofi (Forest Minister in Mufti Mohammad Sayeed regime), Hakim Mohammad Yasin (sitting PDF MLA and former Minister for CAPD), Suman Bhagat (Congress leader and former Minister for Health and Medical Education) and Abdul Gaffar Sofi (sitting PDP MLA and former Minister of State for Health and Medical Education). In the case of Suman Bhagat and Abdul Gaffar Sofi, the SAC has initiated regular inquiry while in the case of Hakim Yasin and Gulchain Singh Charak, the High Court has summoned the record. In the cases of Mangat Ram Sharma and Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Sofi, the inquiries have been stayed by the High Court. The name of senior IAS officer and Chairperson Tribunal, Sonali Kumar also figured in the regular inquiry initiated against Suman Bhagat and Abdul Gaffar Sofi. Mrs Kumar was then posted as Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education. Vikas Bhagat, who worked as PRO of Suman Bhagat is also in the list of the same case. A number of Government officials, firms and private persons also figured in the lists along with Ministers and former Ministers against whom inquiries were pending in the Accountability Commission. They included Najam-ul-Saquib, former Commissioner/ Secretary Forests, Daleep Thusoo, then MD JKPCC, Ezaz Malik, then Conservator Forests, Ejaz Iqbal, then Director CAPD and Nayeem Ahmad, then GM JKPCC among others. The information provided by the Chief Minister revealed that a number of top bureaucrats were facing corruption, misappropriation of funds and other charges like irregularities in the State Vigilance Organisation but they continued to hold plum posts. Present Deputy Commissioner, Rajouri, Hemant Kumar Sharma is an accused in the Vigilance Organisation’s case FIR No. 10/2011 and has been charged with entering into a criminal conspiracy with dishonest and wrongful intentions along with private contractors to benefit the accused persons during his posting as Director CAPD Jammu. Three more then CAPD officials were accused in the FIR. The case is under investigation. Ejaz Iqbal, who recently retired as Secretary Forests is an accused along with Rajinder Prashad, then Chief Manager SFC along with four others in the SVO’s FIR No. 7/2011 for manipulating the records pertaining to auction of properties at Kangral, Mishriwala. Vinod Koul, presently posted as Secretary Revenue is an accused in under investigation case of the Vigilance Organisation in FIR No. 3/2012 registered against him for abuse of official position during his posting as Relief Commissioner (Migrants), Jammu. Deputy Commissioner, Doda, Mubarak Singh is also an accused in the Vigilance Organisation’s FIR No. 4/2012 registered against him during his posting as Commissioner, Jammu Municipal Corporation for granting illegal permission in construction of a commercial building at Maharaja Gulab Singh Marg. Natha Ram Dhingra, Joint Secretary, State Board of School Education and formerly Chief Education Officer (CEO), Jammu is an accused along with three then Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) in FIR No. 27/2012 for purchase of fire extinguishers at highly exorbitant rates. The case is under investigation. GA Khwaja, former Deputy Commissioner, Baramulla has been booked by the Vigilance Organisation in FIR No. 3/2013 for tempering his own service records/date of birth. The unnamed Principal Dental College, Srinagar and members of the Purchase Committee have been accused for causing losses to the State exchequer in the purchases while then Director Health Services Kashmir and others have been charged with purchase of sub-standard drugs and medicines worth crores on exorbitant rates during 2010-11. Ashok Kumar Sharma, then Director Health Services, Jammu and others have been charged in FIR No. 19/2011 for purchase of medicines worth crores of rupees on exorbitant rates. Mukhtar-ul-Aziz, then Additional DC Srinagar and TK Sadhu, then Executive Engineer, Ganderbal figures as accused in FIR No. 25/2011 for fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 1 crore. Mohammad Subhan Najar, then MD JKPCC, Nazir Ahmad Shah, then Chief Engineer R&B Kashmir, MM Sharma, then Chief Engineer, R&B Jammu, Daleep Thusoo, then GM JKPCC, VK Channa and SK Sethi, then DGMs JKPCC and Gopal Sharma, then AE JKPCC were accused in FIR No. 15/2011 for allotment of contract for construction of balanced cantilever bridge over river Chenab at Pul Doda in favour of AK Constructions Private Limited without inducing any competition. Kunal Sharma, then Tehsildar Reasi along with four other Revenue Department officials is an accused in FIR No. 12/2011 registered by the Vigilance for abuse of official position and causing loss to the State exchequer on account of evasion of stamp duty. Nagendra Sharma, former Vice Chancellor, SKUAST Jammu, Vivek Soi, then Comptroller and Iqbal Singh, then Estates Officer were also facing a case in the Vigilance for committing bungling in public funds. Zahoor Hussain Zargar, then Chief Engineer, MED Jammu is facing charges of illegal allot of contract for supply of weigh pads. Meanwhile, in response to a question of PDP MLA Zulfikar Choudhary, Omar said the Government had re-constituted the high powered committee to identify dead wood and corrupt officers/officials in the State. He said the Committee has reviewed the cases of employees falling under Article 226 (2) of the J&K CSRs and made recommendations to the Government. “There is no delay in weeding out dead wood from the administration. At present four cases received recently are being placed before the high powered committee, which would be reviewed in its meeting on February 21, 2014,” Omar said in response to a question of MY Tarigami. Meanwhile, the State Government has turned down the State Vigilance Commission’s proposal for creation of 82 new posts for effective functioning of the premier anti-graft body. “Creation of such a large component of staff (in SVC) on permanent basis is not possible,” Omar said in a written reply to Mr Tarigami. Mr Tarigami claimed that delay in providing adequate staff to State Vigilance Commission (SVC) and State Accountability Commission (SAC) had been affecting the functioning of these newly-constituted anti-graft bodies, and asked the Government about the reasons behind the delay. The Chief Minister said: “some staff has already been provided to the SVC.” The Vigilance Commission is monitoring and supervising thousands of complaints with regard to cases of corruption and looking after the working of its investigating wing — State Vigilance Organisation (SVO). The Chief Minister further said in the reply that a proposal for creation of 82 more posts falling in different categories was received from the SVC, which was thoroughly examine by the Government. The creation of such a large component of staff on permanent basis is not possible and the Commission accordingly was requested to expedite a fresh proposal in consonance with the Government decision for further course of action, he said. He said that adequate staffers were being provided to SAC.
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