Faces FIR for stealing, selling construction material
KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, May 11: The beleaguered Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation JKPCC is yet a again in news and this time too for wrong reasons.
The department faces allegations of stealing and selling its own construction material meant for the construction of a government building in the black market. As many as ten employees including Officers of the Baramulla division of the construction Agency are under scanner and are facing an imminent arrest.
According to a local news gathering agency Regional News Agency, Police has lodged an FIR against JKPCC Baramulla unit for stealing and selling the departmental Material meant for the construction of Tehsil Complex Kreeri in District Baramulla.
The material has been seized by the police which launched a full scale investigation. According to RNA many JKPCC employees deployed at the site are under scanner and have been reportedly involved in stealing and transporting a huge quantity of Iron, Cement, wooden frames, shattering, Generator and other things to black market for its illegal sale.
The matter came to fore after contractor of the building lodged a formal complaint with Police exposing the dirty nexus between the Constructing agency and the black market. The Contractor Mushtaq Ahmad told RNA that material worth lakhs of rupees has been stolen and then sold in the black market by the employees of the JKPCC from the site over so many months and every time they were pressurizing him not to leak the theft .
He said many trucks of Iron and Cement have been stolen and then sold to unknown persons in Pattan area. He alleged that officers of the department even recovered some material but still preferred to remain quiet and allowed the thieves of their own department to continue with the dirty practice.
“I have been robbed many times by these thugs. They have stolen my Generator, Motor, Shattering and wooden frames from their own store. But every time they forced me to remain quite. Now they have gone to the extent to steal nearly four trucks of iron, cement and other material from their own site store.” Mushtaq Ahmad told RNA, adding that officers of the department still wanted him to remain quite but this time he went ahead and filed a complaint with Police Station Kreeri .
“They know who the thieves are but they don’t want to take action, possibly they are all in league. They have been using substandard material also and threatening me not to speak otherwise they will not release my payment.” alleged Mushtaq.
Pertinently the particular unit of JKPCC has been under scanner for some time for getting material from market while selling the original material supplied by the department. The cell phones of the concerned officers were switched off hence RNA could not get their version. However, SDPO Kreeri Rameez Raja confirmed to RNA that an FIR has been lodged and material was seized form the site.
