Asif Iqbal Naik
Early Times Report
Kishtwar, May 29: The Crime Branch (CB), even after seven years of investigation into the theft of over Rs 1 crore from the Kishtwar branch of JK Bank, has made no mention of the missing cash of more than Rs 55 lakh in the chargesheet which was presented by it in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate here on May 17.
The burglars had decamped with a cash of Rs 1,06,48,000 from the strong room of JK Bank, Kishtwar, in 2009. The CB, which on May 17, 2016, produced chargesheet in the CJM's court, has made no mention of the missing cash of Rs 55,04,590 in it, thus raising several questions over the way investigation was conducted, first by the Kishtwar Police and then by CB. The matter is schedule to come for hearing tomorrow.
As per the chargesheet, bank manager Shamas-u-Din, son of Fateh Mohammad of Maitra, Ramban, lodged a written complaint on July 8, 2009 with Kishtwar police station, stating therein that on the night of July 7, 2009, some burglars entered the bank from the second shutter, broke the chest and stole Rs 1,06,48,000. Upon this report, a case under sections 457 and 380 of RPC was registered by police and a SIT was constituted for the purpose of investigation, which was headed by then Dy. SP HQ Mohan Lal Thakur. Other members included then Dy. SP probationary Iftakar Chowdhary and selection grade cop Ashok Kumar Shan, but six months later, the investigation of the case was handed over to CB, Jammu, vide PHQ order No 207 of January 16, 2010.
During the course of investigation, CB recovered Rs 51,43,410 from seven accused namely Zahoor-Ul-Hassan Kamal (Rs 25, 79, 900), Shahid Hussian Bhat (Rs 2, 02,600), Mohammad Aslam Code Col Zubair (Rs 5, 31,400), Mehboob Ahmed Rather (Rs 5, 67, 000), Shahid Hussian Rather (Rs 5,84,160), Farooq Ahmed Kripak (Rs 2,80,000) and Jaffer Hussian Ganie (Rs 3,98,350), but there was no trace of the remaining amount of Rs 55,04,590. It also does not find its mention in the SIT investigation and the CB chargesheet.
CB had recovered Rs 2.80 lakh from bank account No SB 13005 of Farooq Ahmed Kripak who had allegedly deposited Rs 200000 of stolen money in his bank account on August 27, 2009 and Rs 80000 on September 9, 2009 and also made CDRs of the stolen money. The bank statement issued by J&K Bank in the name of the accused, however, mentions no deduction of cash of Rs 2.80 lakhs or seizure of any cash from the said bank account till it was closed by the accused last year. This raises the question from where SIT had got Rs 2.80 lakh which was shown recovered from the possession of the accused.
Demanding reinvestigation of the case through CBI, Farooq Ahmed Kripak said he was a businessman by profession and a tax payer, and showed the income tax statement copy wherein a transaction of Rs 74 lakh was shown from the bank accounts of the accused in one year and more than Rs 50 lakhs in subsequent years. He alleged that he had been framed in the case.
"SIT had earlier also booked me in a militancy case, but the court had given me a clean chit, exonerating me from all charges," he said, urging chief minister Mehbooba Mufti to order a fresh probe into the case so that the mystery behind the non recovery of remaining cash could be unveiled. |
