Senior vet booked for disproportionate assets in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jun 5 (UNI) The Jammu and Kashmir Vigilance Organisation today registered a case against a senior veterinarian for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, acquired through corrupt practices by misusing his official position.

A vigilance spokesman said the case under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006, was registered against Dr Bashir Ahmad Sheikh, a veterinary assistant surgeon and at present posted in the Civil Secretariat here as Private Secretary to the Minister of State for Roads and Buildings.

He said the vigilance organisation conducted an inquiry into the allegations of possessing disproportionate assets by the accused during which it was revealed that he had acquired movable and immovable assets worth crores of rupees.

The property acquired included a palatial three-storey house built over two kanals of land worth Rs 1 crore at Budshah Colony, Sanat Nagar, here besides huge bank deposits, the spokesman said.

He said the investigations further revealed that the only known and visible source of income available to Dr Sheikh was his salary and that of his wife who is working as a teacher.

The assets thus found in his possession were prima-facie disproportionate to his known sources of income which constituted offences punishable under relevant sections of Act, he added.

The spokesman said the vigilance officials conducted searches in the residential premises of the accused.

The accused was found to be in the possession of a Maruti Car costing Rs 2 lakh besides more than Rs 17 lakh as cash balance in 11 bank accounts and 8 LIC policies with an annual premium of Rs 2.48 lakh in his name and that of his family members, he added.

The documents further revealed details about the expenditure incurred by the accused on his children studying in costly private institutions within the state, outside and abroad.

A dozen government files pertaining to the transfer and posting of assistant executive engineers, junior engineers, draftsmen and veterinary assistant surgeons were also seized during the search.

The spokesman said Dr Sheikh also figured as an accused in a case relating to misappropriation of more than Rs 49 lakh in Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP) at Raimbiara Shopian in south Kashmir, which has been sent to the state government for accord of sanction for prosecution.

He said Dr Sheikh, who had gone underground, was arrested from Gulshan Nagar Nowgam on the city outskirts following interception of a conversation over mobile phones.

UNI