Allegations of fund embezzlement against former JKCA officials

Police on Saturday registered a case against two former officials of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association following allegations of misappropriation of funds.

Srinagar: Police on Saturday registered a case against two former officials of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) following allegations of misappropriation of funds, received by the body from the BCCI.

A case was registered at Ram Munshi Bagh Police station based on the complaint lodged by JKCA chairman Mohammad Aslam Goni against the then treasurer Ehsan Mirza and then General Secretary Mohammad Saleem Khan, sources in the Association said. Mirza, who was elected General Secretary of the JKCA last year and Khan, who was Chief Administrative Officer, were asked to step down on Wednesday after the present treasurer Manzoor Wazir detected financial irregularities in the JKCA`s accounts. Goni said Mirza has accepted that some funds of the association were lying with him but did not mentioned the amount. Media reports have claimed that the misappropriated funds could be to the tune of Rs 50 crore, prompting opposition People`s Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti to demand registration of a criminal case against JKCA president and Union Minister Farooq Abdullah. Police today seized the records of the Association while the two accused have applied for anticipatory bail from a court here. Sources in the Association said the record, pertaining to the period during which the funds were allegedly siphoned off in 2009, are still lying with Mirza. Meanwhile, in a joint statement representatives of various clubs affiliated with JKCA have said the scandle had tarnished the image of not only the state association and BCCI but of the entire cricketing fraternity. The statement said the office bearers were not the genuine members of the association and had forced their entry by exploiting their contacts. "We hold this conviction that the genuine cricketers can never indulge in loot of money meant for developing the game. We also feel that making a scapegoat is not going to clean the association of its rot," the signed statement said. PTI