KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, June 27: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has intensified follow-up proceedings in the Fire and Emergency Services recruitment scam by formally informing the department about the arrest of officials allegedly involved in the case and seeking immediate administrative action against them.
According to an official communication issued by the Superintendent of Police, ACB, who is also heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing FIR No. 01/2025 registered at Police Station ACB Central Jammu, the Director of Fire and Emergency Services has been informed about the arrest of three departmental officials in connection with the ongoing investigation. The communication, dated June 27, requests the department to take necessary action at its end and share an Action Taken Report (ATR) with the investigating agency.
The officials named in the communication are Mohammad Yaqoob Dar, then Assistant Divisional Officer (ADO) in the Fire and Emergency Services Department; Bilal Ahmad Shah, Divisional Fire Officer (South); and Younis Ahmad Ganie, a Fireman. All three were arrested on June 26 in connection with the recruitment scam being investigated by the ACB.
The latest development assumes significance as these officials were among the five persons whose arrests in the recruitment scam were reported earlier. While the arrests had already marked a major breakthrough in the investigation, the fresh communication reveals that the ACB has now initiated the process of securing corresponding departmental action against the accused officials, indicating that the case is moving simultaneously on both criminal and administrative fronts.
Sources said the communication is part of the bureau’s effort to ensure accountability within the department while the investigation progresses. By formally notifying the Director of Fire and Emergency Services, the ACB has sought to facilitate disciplinary proceedings as mandated under service rules and regulations.
The letter also refers to an earlier communication issued by the ACB on June 13 and requests the department to share the action taken in response to that correspondence as well. This suggests that investigators have been maintaining sustained engagement with the department as the probe advances and that the bureau is monitoring compliance with its recommendations.
The recruitment scam case has emerged as one of the most significant corruption investigations involving the Fire and Emergency Services Department in recent years. The Special Investigation Team constituted by the ACB has been examining allegations of irregularities in the recruitment process, including the role of officials associated with the conduct of selections and appointments.
Officials familiar with the investigation said scrutiny of recruitment records and other documentary evidence is continuing and that the SIT is working to establish the full extent of the alleged irregularities. The bureau has not disclosed further details of the evidence gathered so far, but the latest communication underscores its determination to pursue both criminal liability and departmental accountability in the case.
With the ACB now pressing for action from the department against officials already arrested in the scam, attention is likely to remain focused on the outcome of the investigation and the administrative measures that follow as authorities seek to address allegations that have raised serious questions about transparency and integrity in the recruitment process.
