Mega corruption racket busted
Srinagar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch Kashmir has filed a comprehensive chargesheet against 108 individuals in connection with a major corruption and embezzlement case involving government funds and illegal appointments.
Filing before the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Baramulla, the chargesheet pertains to FIR No. 25/2018 under multiple sections of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) — 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 201 — along with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case exposes a large-scale racket involving misappropriation of funds in the Electric Division Sumbal, the CBK said in a statement issued here.
The accused include 15 Executive Engineers, 6 Assistant Accounts Officers, 1 Accounts Assistant, 6 Head Assistants, 4 Senior Assistants (notably the kingpin Mushtaq Ahmad Malik of Aragam, Bandipora), 4 Junior Assistants, and 1 Orderly—all posted in the Electric Division Sumbal. Additionally, 25 officers and officials from J&K Bank’s Sumbal Sonawari branch, along with 46 individuals identified as fake employees, are also named in the chargesheet.
The investigation revealed that the Drawing and Disbursing Officer, in collusion with departmental and bank officials, fraudulently withdrew crores of rupees from government accounts and facilitated illegal appointments. Large sums were diverted, with crores recovered from Malik and deposited into the government treasury. Further probe showed substantial transfers to multiple bank accounts of the accused, including savings and term deposit accounts, along with accrued interest.
The government has granted sanction for prosecution, and the chargesheet has now been submitted for judicial proceedings to bring the culprits to justice, the CBK said.