EARLY TIMES EXCLUSIVE

Rs 53 Lakh fraudulent withdrawal under CM’s gold medalist Director

Broad daylight loot of Centre’s Technology Mission funds in J&K Horticulture Department

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Aug 18: Sizable amount of Rs 53 Lakh has been fraudulently withdrawn from Technology Mission account of Horticulture Department days before Director Horticulture Kashmir, Dr Ghulam Hassan Shah, was declared by Government of Jammu and Kashmir as recipient of Chief Minister’s gold medal on the eve of Independence Day on August 14th. How officials have been ruthlessly swindling Rs 200 Cr worth funds, provided for Technology Mission under Prime Minister’s special economic package, became clear when a recent fraudulent withdrawal, to the tune of over Rs 60 Lakh, surfaced in Kupwara, Baramulla and Bandipore district in Kashmir and Reasi district in Jammu division.

During an investigation, Early Times discovered that some unscrupulous elements have got their “fruit nurseries” registered with Department of Horticulture in Kulgam area of South Kashmir, particularly when local politician Abdul Aziz Zargar functioned as the Minister of Horticulture in the previous coalition government. Soon they began receiving orders from District Horticulture Officers (DHOs) for supply of fruit plants and other material. Exorbitant rates, as compared to market rate, shortage in actual supplies and inferior quality used to be the key features in the beginning. Over the years, making insertions in cheques and huge fraudulent withdrawals were meticulously employed by the actors.

When the lid was taken off dramatically by some insiders, DHOs lost no time in filing FIRs at different Police Stations, taking the stand that the forgery and fraudulent withdrawals were the handiwork of either the payee suppliers, or staff of J&K Bank or both. Though the embezzlement spreads across districts and provinces and thus merits a comprehensive investigation by Crime Branch, Police Stations of Handwara, Bandipore, Sopore and Reasi are currently holding separate inquiries into the Technology Mission scam.

Interestingly, Director Horticulture Kashmir, Dr Ghulam Hassan Shah, was among six public servants who were declared by Government of Jammu & Kashmir as recipients of Chief Minister’s gold medal “in recognition of their honesty/integrity and meritorious public service” on the eve of Independence Day earlier this week. The award comprises a gold medal, cash prize of Rs one Lakh and a citation.

Handwara-based DHO Kupwara is learned to have issued four cheques to purported suppliers for an aggregate amount of Rs 1.30 Lakh. The purported suppliers have withdrawn amount of Rs 33.30 Lakh against the same cheques at Khudwani branch of J&K Bank Ltd. DHO Kupwara has issued cheque No: 26470171 for Rs 14,700 in the name of “supplier” Ghulam Mohiuddin Bhat S/o Mohammad Ismail Bhat R/o Nawpora, Kulgam. After two insertions, purportedly attested by DHO, amount of Rs 6,14,700 has been withdrawn on this particular cheque. SHO Handwara, Sajjad Ahmad, confirmed that Police went from door to door in Nawpora but found that no person by this name exists in the village.

Similarly, DHO Kupwara has drawn cheque No: 26470147 for Rs 10,500. Payee Mohammad Yaqoob Mantoo S/o Gh Mohammad Mantoo of Muttanhama has drawn cash of Rs 10,10,500 from J&K Bank against the same cheque. Cheque No: 26470133 has been issued for Rs 24,150. Payee Abdul Majeed Lone S/o Fareed Lone R/o Hawora, Kulgam, has been paid Rs 10,24,150. Another cheque, bearing No: 26470132, issued for Rs 80,850 has been encashed at Khudwani branch of J&K Bank for Rs 6,80,850. Thus an excess payment of Rs 32 Lakh has been made to four “suppliers” including one non-existent.

SHO Handwara initially maintained that the file was in a court but subsequently confirmed that case FIR No: 152 of 2011 (under sections 409, 109, 420, 468 and 471 RPC) dated 23-06-2011 had been registered at Police Station Handwara. He elaborated that DHO had initially filed a report, seeking registration of FIR against the payees but, after investigation, Police added other sections and now payees, Horticulture officials and the bank staff were all under suspicion. According to him, no tape was found pasted on the initially written amount and requisite spaces were left in a way that insertions after insertions became possible. One or two insertions of the amount were purportedly attested by DHO.

A universal modus operandi from Reasi to Kupwara, besides payment to dozens of profusely inserted and obliterated cheques, was an indication of the staff of both organizations being hand-in-glove with the payees. SHO Handwara revealed that one Rayees Ahmed Lone of Hawora, Kulgam, who according to Police was kingpin of the racket, had been arrested and he was currently on judicial remand in Sub Jail Kupwara. He said payee Iftikhar Lone was Rayees’ brother and payee Abdul Majeed Lone was his father. Payee Gh Mohiuddin Bhat was a fake name.

SP Bandipore, Bashir Ahmad Khan, confirmed that Police Station Bandipore had registered case FIR No: 146 of 2011, under sections 467, 468, 471 and 120-B) on the complaint of DHO Bandipore. A cheque, issued for an amount of Rs 60,000 was found to have been cashed by the payee, namely Ghulam Hassan Lone S/o Mohammad Shaban Lone of Hawora for Rs 7,60,000 with the excess payment of Rs 7.00 Lakh. Mr Khan said that Bandipore Police had got equal amount of money sealed in one of the payee’s accounts and the investigation was still underway.

Sopore-based DHO Baramulla has got yet another FIR filed at Police Station Sopore. Police sources confirmed that excess payment of Rs 14 Lakh by fraudulent means, forgery, impersonation and conspiracy had been drawn from the bank. Some of the cheques have been produced at Pahloo branch of J&K Bank and the money has been credited to the payees’ accounts at Khudwani branch.

In addition to the excess payment of Rs 53 Lakh in Kashmir, Early Times discovered during its investigation that another fraudulent payment of Rs 8 Lakh had taken place in Reasi district of Jammu division. Additional SP Reasi, Anita Sharma, as well as SHO Reasi, Jitendar Sambyal, confirmed that DHO Reasi had issued a cheque for Rs 8,881 but payment of Rs 58,881 had been drawn from the bank. In all, 23 cheques have been found to have been forged and paid with huge excess amounts.

SP Kulgam, Mubassir Lateefi, said that according to his knowledge J&K Bank had seized several accounts of the payees containing Rs 37 Lakhs. He said that Kulgam Police was not part of the investigation.

Sources in J&K Bank, wishing anonymity in absence of approval from headquarters, said that the bank had got five particular accounts frozen at Khudwani, Kaimoh, and Pahloo (Kulgam). More than Rs 35 Lakh was the balance in these accounts when the action was taken. They asserted that all the cheques had been processed for payment as all the insertions had been “duly attested” by the account holder DHOs. Bank’s own investigation was still in progress.

Reached over telephone for his comments, Director Horticulture Kashmir asserted that it were the DHOs who had themselves lodged the FIRs after learning that excess payment of around Rs 53 Lakh had been drawn. According to him, bank should have seized all the cheques with excessive insertions, overwriting and obliteration and stopped the payment for verification with the DHOs. “This is a matter between the payees and the bank. Excess amounts of Rs 53 Lakh have been illegally drawn from our accounts. I have written to Chairman J&K Bank and asked for restoration of our bank position. I hope bank will deposit the illegally drawn amount back into our accounts in a couple of days”, Dr Shah said.

However, officials in the bank maintained that an identical modus operandi, and the cheques having been issued without tape on amounts, was a clear indication of a truck between the payees and the Horticulture officials. They believed that reality would unfold during Police investigation.

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