Senior official, others booked by ACB in embezzlement case, searches conducted

A senior government official was among several people booked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday for alleged embezzlement of funds meant for Scheduled Tribe (ST) students in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

The case was registered against M S Choudhary, the Chief-Executive Officer-cum-Managing Director of State Procurement and Supplies Agency, and others after preliminary investigation revealed misappropriation of funds to the tune of over Rs 66.84 lakh during his posting as the tribal affairs director, a spokesman of the ACB said.

He said another former director of tribal affairs, Ali Hassan Raza (now retired), proprietor of International Computer Training Centre in Rajouri Nasreen Qadir and other officials of the Tribal Affairs department were also named in the FIR registered at the police station ACB Rajouri.

After registration of the case under relevant sections of law, the spokesman said, special teams conducted simultaneous raids at the residence of Choudhary in Rajouri and at his official residence in Trikuta Nagar in Jammu.

It is alleged that funds under the centrally-sponsored Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for ST candidates were released to un-recognised institutes in gross violation of guidelines.

The spokesman said the accused public servants in connivance with other officials of the Tribal Affairs department and Qadir had released payments directly to the tune of Rs 60,17,400 in favour of the beneficiary firm (International Computer Training Centre Rajouri) for the year 2011 to 2013 and 2014 to 2017.