ACB books govt employee for embezzlement in Poonch
Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday booked a multi-tasking staff (MTS) employee for alleged embezzlement of Rs 55.99 lakh from government accounts in Poonch district, officials said.
“A formal case has been registered against multi-tasking staff Mohammad Jameel, previously posted in the office of the collector, agrarian reforms, in Poonch,” an ACB spokesperson said.
The case was registered following a miscellaneous verification conducted by the ACB, based on a complaint lodged by Tahir Mustafa Malik, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Poonch, against Jameel for embezzling an amount of Rs 55,99,947 from government accounts, he said.
The verification revealed that an enquiry into the matter had already been conducted by a committee headed by Poonch Additional District Development Commissioner Sandesh Kumar Sharma and constituted by the deputy commissioner in 2023, he added.
The verification further revealed that Mohammad Jameel, during his posting in the office of the Collector Agrarian Reforms, Poonch, had embezzled Rs 55,99,947 from the accounts of the deputy commissioner, Poonch, between January 7, 2019 and October 21, 2023.
It also surfaced that the amount was fraudulently withdrawn by the accused official in connivance with concerned bank officials from three accounts of the deputy commissioner’s office in Poonch using fake invoices, either by forging the signatures of the drawing and disbursing officers or by using his signature, the spokesperson said.
Further, it was found that besides transferring the embezzled money to his own account, the accused had also transferred portions of the public money to the accounts of his close relatives and some unidentified persons.
The involvement of the concerned bank officials, who processed the fake invoices bearing forged signatures that did not match the specimen signatures provided to the bank, has also come to light, he added.
“In this way, Jameel abused his official position as part of a well-knit conspiracy with the concerned bank officials of the J&K Bank branch in Poonch city and others, fraudulently withdrawing public money amounting to Rs 55,99,947 from three accounts of the DC office, Poonch, causing a huge loss to the government exchequer,” the spokesperson said.
Following the registration of a formal case under relevant sections of law, simultaneous searches were conducted with the help of local police in the presence of magistrates and independent witnesses at the premises of the accused in Poonch district, he added.
A detailed and in-depth scrutiny of the seized records will be carried out during the further course of the investigation, the spokesperson said.
