SRINAGAR: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against a former branch head of J&K Grameen Bank and a business correspondent for alleged financial irregularities in the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) in Baramulla district.
According to the ACB, FIR No. 05/2026 has been registered against Arvind Saini, the then branch head of J&K Grameen Bank’s Reban branch in Sopore, and Firdous Ahmad Sheikh, a business correspondent, along with others, under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
The case stems from allegations of irregularities committed between 2021 and 2023 in the release of capital subsidies under PMEGP and other sponsored schemes.
The ACB said a verification revealed that Saini, allegedly in conspiracy with Sheikh and others, prematurely released or reversed capital subsidy amounting to ₹41.17 lakh in 25 PMEGP loan accounts before the expiry of the mandatory lock-in period and without obtaining the required authorisation from the implementing agency.
According to the agency, the alleged actions facilitated the closure or adjustment of the loan accounts in violation of PMEGP operational guidelines. It claimed that six of these loan accounts had been sanctioned in favour of Sheikh and his family members and were also prematurely closed through subsidy adjustments.
The ACB further alleged that physical verification of 46 PMEGP units financed by the branch found no business activity or units in existence. These units had received loans amounting to ₹1.66 crore, according to the agency.
The bureau alleged that the findings indicated diversion of loan funds and subsidy and defeated the objectives of the employment generation scheme.
The FIR has been registered under Section 13(1)(a) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, and Sections 409 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.
Further investigation is underway, the ACB said.
