Srinagar, Jul 6 — The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered an FIR against five officials of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) Department and nine Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers for their alleged involvement in the embezzlement of government food grains worth over Rs 5.57 crore in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, officials said on Monday.
The FIR was registered at the ACB police station in Baramulla under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita after obtaining prior approval from the General Administration Department, they said.
According to the ACB, the case originated from a communication by the Director of the FCS&CA Department, Kashmir, seeking criminal action after departmental inspections and physical verification revealed large-scale shortages of government food grains at sale centres and Fair Price Shops in Karnah.
A joint surprise inspection at the Lountha Granary in Karnah initially detected a shortage of 4,175.89 quintals of rice. Subsequent verification by a departmental committee and an independent ACB probe uncovered further shortages at government sale centres and Fair Price Shops operating under the Tangdhar, Karnah-A and Karnah-B circles, officials said.
The investigation found that the alleged shortages resulted in a loss of Rs 5,57,18,657.25 to the government exchequer. The bureau alleged that the fraud was carried out through a “well-orchestrated criminal conspiracy” involving public servants and private beneficiaries, who allegedly misappropriated government food grains entrusted to them by abusing their official positions for unlawful financial gain.
Among those named in the FIR are then assistant storekeepers Umar Bashir alias Raja Umer and Ashiq Hussain Mir, along with 12 other accused comprising FCS&CA officials and Fair Price Shop dealers.
The accused have been booked for offences related to criminal misconduct, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of government food grains and criminal conspiracy, the ACB said.
Searches were launched at multiple locations immediately after registration of the case, while further legal proceedings have been initiated. The investigation is in progress, the bureau added.
