Senior officers in the Education Department of Jammu and Kashmir allegedly embezzled Rs 27 lakh worth of scholarships meant for tribal students in the border district of Baramulla.
Officials reportedly inserted fictitious names of non-existent students into official registers and showed large disbursements made in their names. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Union Territory today filed a chargesheet in the case before the Court of the Special Judge Anti-Corruption against the then Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) of Chandanwari, Baramulla, and a Junior Assistant.
According to an ACB spokesperson, the investigation was initiated following a complaint titled Ghulam Qadir Mir vs Education Zone Boniyar, received through the State Vigilance Commission, J&K. The complaint alleged fraud and embezzlement of scholarship funds meant for Pahari-speaking and Gujjar-Bakerwal students in Education Zone Chandanwari, District Baramulla. A preliminary verification substantiated the allegations, prompting a formal investigation.
Based on the findings and recommendations of the Enquiry Officer, three separate FIRs—FIR No. 19/2018, FIR No. 20/2018, and FIR No. 21/2018—were registered at Police Station Vigilance Organization Kashmir (now Police Station Anti-Corruption Bureau Baramulla) against various officials from three education zones in Baramulla for misappropriation of scholarship funds.
Thorough investigations by the ACB revealed that approximately Rs 27 lakh, allocated for Gujjar and Bakerwal students during the academic years 2009–10, 2010–11, and 2011–12, was misappropriated by the accused public servants of Education Zone Chandanwari.
The vital records, including Acquittance Registers for the mentioned years, were found to contain fictitious names of non-existent students, against whom large disbursements were shown. Furthermore, the funds obtained for these tribal student categories were significantly higher than the actual student roll, resulting in an excess disbursement of Rs 23,15,400—also allegedly embezzled by the accused in connivance with one another.
The investigation revealed that the accused officials abused their official positions by violating established norms for scholarship disbursement. They inflated the number of beneficiaries by including fictitious names from Gujjar-Bakerwal and Pahari-speaking categories, thereby gaining undue pecuniary benefits and causing a corresponding loss to the state exchequer.
Upon completion of the investigation, a chargesheet (Challan), as envisaged under Section 173 CrPC, was submitted before the Court of the Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Baramulla. The accused include:
Abdul Rashid Mir, then Zonal Education Officer, Chandanwari (now retired), son of Abdul Gaffar Mir, resident of Hundi Nowshera Uri, currently residing at Gantmulla Bala, Baramulla.
Bashir Ahmad Lone, then Junior Assistant in the Office of ZEO Chandanwari (now retired), son of Wali Mohammad Lone, resident of Bijhama Boniyar, Uri.
They have been charged under Sections 5(1)(c), 5(1)(d) read with 5(2) of the Jammu & Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, Samvat 2006, and Sections 468, 471, 201, and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) for judicial determination.
Both accused were produced before the court and released on bail bonds.
