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| Aziz duped J&K Govt of Rs 1 crore, continues to head PDP-BJP Govt's info deptt | | NC man enjoying plum posting | | SVO working at snail's pace
Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 3: Despite facing grave charges of having duped the state exchequer of Rs. 1 crore; ex- Additional Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Mukhtar-ul-Aziz continues to be Jammu and Kashmir government's information director.
And to rub salt on the wounds, officials in the information department are also peeved Aziz's purported dictatorial ways of functioning. Aziz's transfer from the information department within four days of his posting and his subsequent refusal to honour the then government's order was last nail in the coffin of completely in-effective NC-Congress coalition cabinet. The then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had himself wanted Aziz to be shifted out of information department.
On his express instructions, GAD posted Mukhtar-ul-Aziz as Director Rural Development Kashmir vide Government Order No.1091-GAD of 2014 Dated: 21-10-2014 in partial modification of the order issued earlier on October 14, 2014. The then Director Tourism, Jammu Soujanya Kumar Sharma who was drafted in as Director Information was taken by surprise when he saw Mukhtar-ul-Aziz sitting on chair on the strength of stay order issued by the court.
Aziz has been officiating as Director Information since then. Known to one and all as one of the loyalist officers of ex-Minister for Rural Development Ali Mohammed Sagar and now, Provincial President of National Conference (NC), Aziz has been facing criminal charges of having duped state exchequer of around Rs. 1 crore. If the officials in the civil secretariat are to be believed, Aziz is one such officer who has maintained unflinching loyalty with National Conference (NC) old guard and has at times, gone out of the way to accommodate their requests.
And fate may have had it. The new J&K government has a man manning information department who is out on an anticipatory bail and could be placed under arrest as and when the court decides against allowing him free run. Such was the influence of Aziz that despite having a serious case of embezzlement lodged against him, he ensured the State Vigilance Department goes slow on the case and he is neither penalised nor punished for his alleged wrong doings.
A complete NC man, sources said that Aziz used his proximity with old guard of National Conference (NC) to the hilt and ensured that State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) does not pursue the case vigorously nor did the Governor's administration during its major two month long tenure shift Aziz out of the Information department. He was allowed to operate on the strength of the court order by both the law department and the Governor's administration.
Anticipatory bail was granted by the court of Justice Mohammed Yaqoob Mir after hearing the counsel of the accused and the Additional Advocate General of the state. Court had ordered that if arrested in connection with case FIR no. 25/2011, Aziz should be released on furnishing bail to the tune of Rs. 30, 000 and personal bond to the satisfaction of Investigation Officer (IO) concerned.
Court had then directed Aziz not to leave limits of state of Jammu and Kashmir without its prior permission. Sources said that despite swindling Rs. 1 crore from government coffers, SVO allegedly shielded Aziz and never arrested him, giving him free hand to destroy evidence. Vigilance Organization Kashmir (VOK) on December 16, 2011 had found that Mukhtar-ul-Aziz under a criminal conspiracy had facilitated wrongful payments of undue compensation to the tune of Rs. 1 crore in favour of nine beneficiaries, while making payment for non-existing shops in Srinagar city's Khanyar area during land acquisition process when he was Additional Deputy Commissioner Srinagar.
In this connection, a case of FIR No: 25/2011 u/s 5(2) P.C Act Svt. 2006 and sections 120-B, 420, 467 RPC was registered in P/S VOK on the outcome of the enquiry. The report had strongly advocated against any anticipatory bail to the accused. The Vigilance had submitted its enquiry report before Additional Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court Kashmir, which says that Mukhtar-ul-Aziz, former Additional Deputy Commissioner Srinagar and T.K.Sadhu, then Executive Engineer Construction Division had prepared a false and incorrect Task Force Verification report regarding structure No 99/2A and submitted to High Level Committee.
The two officers have deliberately and fraudulently concealed the correct facts from the High Level Committee and facilitated wrongful payments of undue compensation to the tune of Rs. 1 crore. Despite having ample evidence against the official, Aziz was posted as Director Information by the previous NC-Congress coalition government where he has now become a dictator and has been harassing the lower and junior rung officials over trivial issues. |
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