Srinagar, Dec 15: The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday removed 103 personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services Department after concluding that their selection in the 2020 recruitment drive was vitiated by fraud and manipulation.
The government order said the decision was taken after a two-stage examination of the recruitment process — first through a departmental enquiry and later through a criminal investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Both processes, the government said, pointed to serious procedural and criminal violations.
The enquiry committee, set up in December 2022, was tasked with examining complaints related to the selection of firemen and fireman drivers. During its scrutiny, the panel found irregularities including leakage of examination papers, interference with evaluation, and manipulation of records.
On the basis of these findings, the committee advised initiation of a criminal probe.
The ACB subsequently registered a case in January 2025 and carried out a technical and documentary investigation.
According to official findings, investigators detected tampering of OMR sheets, alteration of scanned answer scripts, changes in digital data and manipulation of merit lists. The probe concluded that 106 candidates had benefited from the compromised process by being awarded inflated marks.
The government said the appointments were the result of a planned conspiracy and could not be protected under service rules or constitutional safeguards. It clarified that protections available to government employees do not apply where appointments themselves are unlawful.
Of the total beneficiaries identified, three appointees had already been removed earlier for failing to complete mandatory joining requirements. The remaining 103 individuals have now been terminated with immediate effect.(KNS).
