Srinagar- The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a chargesheet against a former junior assistant for allegedly misappropriating 256.40 quintals of rice and cooking costs under the Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme in Rajouri, causing a loss of over Rs 12.65 lakh to the state exchequer.
According to an ACB spokesperson, the chargesheet was filed in FIR No. 26/2018 under provisions of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act and the Ranbir Penal Code against Mohammad Farooq, who was serving as a junior assistant in the office of the Zonal Education Officer (ZEO), Manjakote.
The case was registered on December 28, 2018, at Police Station VOJ, now ACB-J, following a verification into the alleged misappropriation of around 200 quintals of rice during the fourth quarter of 2014-15 under the MDM scheme in Zone Manjakote.
The investigation revealed that the then ZEO Manjakote, Shah Nawaz Khan, who has since died, and Farooq, the dealing hand for the MDM scheme, allegedly prepared fake and fabricated indents and authority letters by manipulating official records, in connivance with storekeeper Mumtaz Hussain.
After examining official records and obtaining an opinion from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), the ACB prima facie established that 256.40 quintals of rice, valued at Rs 8.03 lakh, along with Rs 4.61 lakh in cooking costs, had allegedly been misappropriated.
The alleged irregularities resulted in a total loss of Rs 12,65,135.60 to the state exchequer, the spokesperson said.
As Shah Nawaz Khan had died during the course of the proceedings, prosecution sanction was obtained against the in-service accused, Mohammad Farooq.
The ACB produced the chargesheet before the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court, Rajouri, on August 31. The court has fixed September 29 as the next date of hearing.
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