BOSE Academic Officer suspended

Charges of being illegal producer for MHA-DD production established

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 25: Academic officer of the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education (BOSE), Ms Naila Neelofar, has been placed under suspension after an inquiry committee established against her charges of working as a ‘private producer’ for a programme series commissioned by union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) through Doordarshan.

Chairman of BOSE, Dr Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, told Early Times that an inquiry panel, headed by Director Academics, Malik Ghulam Hassan, today submitted a preliminary report according to which charges against the Academic Officer (English), Ms Naila Neelofar, have been prima facie established. Assistant Secretary Examinations (Kashmir), Farooq Ahmad Khan, is a member of the committee constituted by Chairman BOSE earlier this year.

On receiving a written complaint from one Tarouq Loulpuri, Chairman BOSE had ordered an inquiry into Ms Naila Neelofar’s conduct. With submission of documentary evidences, the complainant had alleged that in violation of the BOSE service rules, the Academic Officer had been simultaneously running an illegal business with Doordarshan, a Government of India undertaking, which was breach of service rules and a criminal act punishable by termination of service and imprisonment.

According to the documentary evidence available with BOSE, Ms Naila Neelofar had grabbed a Rs 24 Lakh counter-propaganda series of MHA commissioned in the name of her illegal banner, M/S Aabid Films, through DD’s Kashir Channel.

The panel issued charge sheet under No: F(Chrge Sht./Prb)-12 dated 27-6-2012, asking Ms Naila Neelofar to explain her position. In her reply dated July 7^th, 2012, she denied all charges against her and claimed that the complainant was actually himself a private producer who was settling scores with her aunt, Mrs Shami Shair, then Director of Doordarshan Kendra, Srinagar.

However, in the wake of fresh evidences, tumbling out of DD’s cupboards after Shami Shair’s removal and attachment, it surfaced dramatically that her niece, Ms Naila Neelofar, was the Producer of the MHA-DD production and she had received MHA’s funds worth Rs 10.80 Lakh from DD through RTGS transfer into her banner’s current account in J&K Branch, branch New Theed, Harwan, on 3-4-2012. It was stated to be the advance payment released to Ms Naila Neelofar’s illegal banner, M/S Aabid Films.

Chairman BOSE revealed that the inquiry panel sought the personal appearance of the accused Academic Officer in which she admitted to her criminal act of having operated as a Private Producer (businesswoman) and having received the DD money into her illegally running bank account. Thereupon, he said, the committee complied and submitted the preliminary report to him. “Charges against her have been established prima facie”, Dr Bashir said.

He said on receiving the report, he ordered immediate suspension and attachment of the accused Academic Officer. With Chairman’s approval, Assistant Secretary (Administration) issued Order No: 568-B of 2012 Dated 25-09-2012, placing Ms Naila Neelofar under suspension with immediate effect. Pending further inquiry, she has been attached to the office of Joint Secretary (Administration), Kashmir Division.

BOSE officials said that final inquiry report would determine further disciplinary and legal action that includes termination of the delinquent official’s service under Civil Service Rules and Regulation in vogue in J&K Government and BOSE besides registration of FIR against all the people involved in the fraudulent act of allotting a Government contract to a Government employee.

CBI has already started a thorough investigation into the conduct of the removed DDK Srinagar Director, Shami Shair, who is alleged to have drawn huge amounts of in the name of a number of payees---some being completely fake names and others being her own family members, relatives, neighbours, acquaintances and domestic helps. According to complaints, sizable transactions have taken place in the bank accounts of these payees.

According to well-placed authoritative sources, in addition to scrutinizing contracts and tapes of Mrs Shair’s “in-house” programmes and flagship programmes of Government of India like Bharat Nirman and Krishi Darshan, CBI is investigating the source of the transactions of nearly 20 bank accounts of the DD official’s family members and relatives. Her niece, despite being a regular employee of the state government, was allegedly one of Mrs Shair’s biggest beneficiaries. This has been immediately proved as correct. Sources said that CBI was likely to grill some of Mrs Shair’s relatives besides a retired official of DDK Srinagar, Ghulam Nabi Dar, and a girl, namely Shubeena, who had been handling the entire business of making contracts of her programmes and collecting cheques of payment from Accounts Section.

Sources said that the retired Administrative Officer of DDK Srinagar, Mr Baig, and some serving officials would also be interrogated during the process of investigation. Reports from New Delhi today said that senior officials in MHA and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting had taken serious note of the engagement of DDG incharge Kashir Channel, Ananya Bannerjee, as a Consultant in MHA after her retirement in DD last year. According to sources, Shami Shair and her friend Ananya Bannerjee had played key role of collaborators in getting an MHA-funded DD serial allotted to the J&K BOSE official, Naila Neelofar despite her being a government employee.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports this evening said that on the request from BOSE, J&K Bank has frozen all the three accounts of Ms Naila Neelofar including her illegal business account at the bank’s New Theed branch. While as her old salary account continues to exist and operate at J&K Bank, branch Lal Mandi, her new salary account is operating at J&K Bank BOSE branch Bemina.

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