Investigations find nexus between some gun dealers and public servants in issuance of licences to unauthorised persons
Nothing incriminating found from my residence; tweets Shahid Iqbal Choudhary
By Bunty Mahajan
Jammu: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday searched the offices and residential premises of a number of serving and retired public servants at 40 places in Jammu Kashmir and Delhi in connection with the issuance of arms licences to unauthorised people.
Apart from these officials, both IAS and KAS who have served as District Magistrate and and Additional District Magistrate, CBI also searched the premises of 20 Gun Houses/dealers.
The searches were conducted at Jammu, Srinagar, Udhampur, Rajouri, Anantnag, Baramulla, Delhi.
One of the IAS officers, Secretary Tribal Affairs Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary whose official residence in Srinagar was raided by CBI in a tweet said that CBI during search at his residence found nothing incriminating in the ongoing arms license probe. Pointing out that the probe covers four years across all districts of Jammu and Kashmir, he said “I am fully answerable to CBI for my tenure”.
He also gave statistics of arms licences issued during his tenure in three districts, adding that of the 4.49!lakh arms licences issued in J&K between 2012-16, only 56,000 (12.4 per cent) have been issued in Reasi, Udhampur and Kathua districts where he served as DM.
“This is not disproportionate. Lowest number: Of the 56,000 licences issued in these three districts during the period, only 1,720 were issued in my tenure, which is 3 per cent of all the licences issued in three districts in four years, or during the period under investigation and 0.38 per cent of all such licences issued in J&K,” he said.
“The licences issued in three districts under my tenure have been lowest by any DMs in any district,” he said.
About procedural irregularity, he said “over sight or procedural indiscretion in few cases cannot be completely ruled out as this passes through several clerical stages,” he said, adding that of the 36,000 licences issued on Udhampur, only 1,500 odd (less than 4 per cent) were issued under my tenure”.
“I have complied with the Agency (CBI) queries, committed to do so in future also,” he added.
CBI had registered two cases on the request of J & K Government and further notification from Government of India, and taken over the investigation of two FIRs registered by the then Vigilance Organization Jammu (now Anti Corruption Bureau) in 2018, following allegations of bulk issuance of arms licences in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir during 2012-16.
It was alleged that more than 2.78 lakh arms licences were issued to the non-entitled persons. CBI also collected documents pertaining to the issuance of said armed licences allegedly spread over 22 districts of J&K.
During investigation and scrutiny of documents, the role of certain gun dealers was found who in connivance with the public servants – the then DM and ADM of concerned District had allegedly issued such illegal arms licenses to the ineligible persons. It was also alleged that the persons who got these licenses were not residents of the places from where the said arms licenses were issued.
Investigation are in progress