Srinagar July 16: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed a charge-sheet against former chief minister of J&K Dr Farooq Abdullah and three others accused in the rupees multi crore scam in Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
The charge-sheet was filed by a team of CBI officials in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Srinagar.
Dr Farooq Abdullah also the patron of National Conference has been named as one of the accused in the scam that hit the headlines 2011.
The others accused in the “misappropriation” of around Rs 113 crores in the state’s highest cricketing body, JKCA, include former general secretary of the Association Mohammad Saleem Khan, its former treasurer Ehsan Mirza and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank.
The accused according to the charge-sheet had opened bogus bank accounts and embezzled the huge capital meant for furthering the interests of the game of cricket and its players in the state.
Farooq Abdullah was the president of JKCA when the alleged fraud was noticed in the JKCA by the investigators.
The J&K High Court had on March 09, 2016 had handed over the probe to CBI, observing that “investigation by J&K Police lacked speed and credibility and that the lack of will to dig out the scamsters was writ large on the face of its performance”.
“Having regard for the quantum and magnitude of the scam involving huge loss of public money and failure of (police) to conduct the investigation with speed, fairness and objectivity, and given the inordinate delay in concluding the investigation coupled with lack of credibility by the (police) and also taking into consideration the serious allegations made against the beneficiaries involved including the influential and mighty, we are of the considered opinion that it is a fit case where the investigation must be handed over to CBI for purposes of a fair and result oriented investigation,” the High Court had said.
In its charge-sheet filed in a special court here, the CBI alleged that Abdullah as the association president at that time had connived with the treasurer of JKCA and others for undue siphoning off and misappropriation of funds, a CBI spokesperson said in New Delhi.
The CBI has charged Abdullah and three others under the Ranbir Penal Code provisions related to criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust.
“It was alleged that the BCCI had given Rs 112 crore (approx) to JKCA from the year 2002 to 2011 as grant for the promotion of game of cricket in the state, out of which Rs 43.69 crore (approx) was siphoned off and misappropriated by the accused persons,” the agency said in a statement.
The CBI had taken over the case from the state police in 2015 on orders of a division bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The bench comprising the then Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Bansi Lal Bhat had pronounced the order on September 03, 2015 on a PIL filed by two cricketers — Majid Yaqoob Dar and Nissar Ahmad Khan — into the alleged scam.
As per reports, Abdullah in his response to the High Court had refuted the allegations claiming that his name was being dragged to tarnish his political image.
The alleged scam was earlier investigated by a special team of the state police, which had failed to conclude its probe after nearly three years, prompting the High Court to hand it over to the CBI in 2015.
Meanwhile, in its reaction to the development, National Conference (NC) said party president Dr. Farooq Abdullah has full faith in the judicial system and re-asserts his commitment to cooperate with the court’s proceedings in the matter relating to certain financial transactions of the JKCA.
In a statement here, NC said “it was Dr. Farooq Abdullah who sought the registration of an FIR into this matter in the first place.
“Dr. Farooq Abdullah has led his life guided by the strictest principles of selfless public service and probity. He is certain that truth shall prevail. The rank and file of the party draws inspiration from Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s resolve to fight earnestly for the truth to be upheld and continues to fully support him in this endeavour,” the party statement said.
