J&K govt official held for making illegal appointments

J&K State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) Tuesday arrested a government official for making illegal appointments in a municipal committee of north Kashmir`s Bandipora district four years ago.

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) Tuesday arrested a government official for making illegal appointments in a municipal committee of north Kashmir`s Bandipora district four years ago.

"SVO has arrested Abdul Rashid Shah, the then In-charge Executive Officer of Municipal Committees Sumbal/Hajin and Bandipora presently attached with Divisional Commissioner Srinagar`s office for illegal appointments made in Municipal Committee Sumbal during the year 2009-10," a spokesman of the SVO said here. The organisation is further investigating two more cases of similar nature of Municipal Committees Hajin and Bandipora, besides a possession of disproportionate assets case against the said accused, he said. The SVO had recently registered cases against four persons, including Shah, for making illegal appointments in the three municipal committees of the district. "A verification conducted into the allegations of illegal appointments in Municipal Committees of Hajin, Sumbal and Bandipora revealed that during the year 2009-10, the accused made 149 illegal appointments including their relatives, in gross violation of standing orders and rules and without any competence," the spokesman said. The SVO had registered three separate cases under prevention of corruption act against Imtiyaz Ahmad Parray, the President of Municipal Committee Hajin, Abdul Rashid Mir, the President of Municipal Committee Sumbal and Mushtaq Ahmad Sofi, the President of Municipal Committee Bandipora. Shah, who was holding charge as Executive Officer of all three Municipal Committees when the recruitments were made in 2009-10, has been named as an accused in the cases. PTI