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| GAD fails to act against tainted GDC Principal Sgr | | Sanction for prosecution pending since 2012 | | Jehangir Rashid
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Apr 7: General Administration Department (GAD) has failed to act against a tainted official in the health and medical education department despite State Vigilance organization registering a FIR against him three years ago.
The file regarding prosecution against the official is gathering dust in the GAD over the last couple of years with no action being taken against him during the previous National Conference-Congress coalition government in the state headed by Omar Abdullah. A First Information Report (FIR) already stands registered against the official in the State Vigilance Organization (SVO).
SVO registered a case against Dr. Riyaz Farooq, Principal Government Dental College (GDC) Srinagar after it was established that Dr. Riyaz had purchased medical equipment for GDC Srinagar and GDC Jammu at exorbitant rates thus causing loss in crores of rupees to the state ex-chequer. The multi-crore purchase scandal came to the fore after revelations that came through a Right to Information (RTI) application moved by Tanveer Hussain Khan.
After preliminary investigations that led to the revelation of purchase scandal the anti-corruption court in Srinagar started the formal investigations in the case. The inquiry established the fraud and finally a FIR under FIR number 33/2012 under section 161 of Ranbir Penal Code was registered against GDC, Srinagar.
The inquiry officer probing the purchase established that equipment was purchased on exorbitant rates in order to cause monetary benefits to Principal GDC, Srinagar and officials of the company that supplied the equipment.
In his report to then Special Judge Anti-Corruption Kashmir, Aijaz Ahmad Mir, the inquiry officer had written that machine Orthophos X G5 DS Ceph had been procured on exorbitant rates in order to cause undue pecuniary benefits to Dr. Riyaz Farooq, Principal Government Dental College, Srinagar, V. L Narayan Proprietor M/s Villa India, New Delhi and Hamid Bashir of M/s Basha Enterprises, Karan Nagar, Srinagar.
After this Special Judge Anti-Corruption Kashmir directed SSP Vigilance Organization to register formal FIR in the case if in his opinion any ground for the same exists on the basis of the findings arrived at by the inquiry officer under the relevant provisions of law. The vigilance organization while carrying out probe also found that fraud has taken place and it was only after this FIR was filed.
The inquiry officer in his report said that he compared the rates of the equipment in the market and found that GDC Principal has paid more for the equipment so that he acquires benefits from the purchase. The rates of the equipment were also presented to the Anti-Corruption Judge by the inquiry officer in a tabular form in his report.
The emboldened Principal GDC, Srinagar instead of accepting his wrong doings took on the people who deposed before the Vigilance Organization and stated truth before them during the course of investigations. This included a Registrar of the college and the career of the Registrar has virtually been ruined who was at the time of investigations working in the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery department.
Although the FIR against Principal GDC Srinagar was registered in 2012 since then no action has been taken against him. Dr. Riyaz used his political influence in the past and as such no punitive action was taken against him. Some of the ministers in the previous coalition government came to his rescue and as such the whole process of initiating action against Dr. Riyaz got derailed.
Since Mufti himself heads the GAD ministry it remains to be seen how far is he serious in weeding out the corrupt and tainted officers and officials from the government set up. Action against Principal GDC Srinagar would send shivers down the spine of 'corrupt' officials and they would think twice in carrying forward their 'corrupt practices'. |
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