| Accused in corruption case made in-charge | | DC Kathua 'abuses' CEO, gets him arrested | | Early Times Report
Jammu, June 4: A former Chief Education Officer (CEO) Kathua, Nirmal Choudhary, who was attached at Deputy Commissioner Officer Kathua, was allegedly showered with invectives and wild allegations by the DC himself, who later got him arrested by police "to examine whether he was drunk or not."
The police took the former CEO to district hospital Kathua, where doctors found the allegations baseless. Choudhary's blood pressure was however very high and doctors referred him to Jammu for further treatment.
The DC was invited to the CEO office allegedly by in-charge CEO Aruna Sharma, against whom enquiry of embezzlement of Rs 6.7 lakh has been pending since 2014. Director School Education Jammu had forwarded the complaint to CEO Kathua to probe the matter on the same day when Choudahry was attached by the DC, making entire issue fishy.
Sources informed Early Times that as per the attachment order issued by Deputy Commissioner Kathua, the former CEO had joined DC office on Saturday and on Monday morning once again CEO visited DC office to mark his attendance.
"DC was not in the office. So I went to bring my documents from the CEO office. As I was sitting on a sofa, the DC entered the office and started abusing me. He threw invectives, started levelling allegations of being drunk and also called me a thief. He alleged that I had visited the CEO office for stealing some records", Choudhary said, adding that all his appeals went in vain and Deputy Commissioner left only after getting him arrested by the police.
The DC instructed the police to arrest Choudhary and get his medical check up done. The doctors at the district hospital Kathua found the allegations false but found blood pressure of Choudhary severely shot up.
"His BP had reached 220 but he was not drunk", Dr. Nipun Sharma, Causality Medical Officer at Kathua hospital said, adding that the allegations against Choudhary of being drunk were false.
The entire bedlam in CEO Kathua begun with a complaint by District Education Planning Officer Aruna Sharma against CEO Choudhary for mass scale attachments of teachers, to Deputy Commissioner Kathua. DC Kathua took cognizance of the complaint of Aruna Sharma and ordered attachment of CEO Nirmal Choudhry and made complainant Aruna Sharma as in-charge CEO despite having dozens of other senior officers available in Kathua.
The DC also made complainant Aruna Sharma as head of the district despite the fact that she was herself accused in a scandal involving Rs 6 lakhs embezzlement, when she was Principal Government Girls Higher Secondary School Forlan.
Sources said that Director School Education Jammu had forwarded a copy of complaint to CEO Kathua Nirmal Choudhary, directing him to complete the enquiry against Aruna Sharma, pending since 2014.
As per the copy of complaint forwarded by Principal GHSS Forlan to the then CEO and then to DSE Jammu, which later forwarded the same to CEO for completing the enquiry, it was written: "...following charges/bill vouchers are still pending as they have not been handed over and lying with Aruna Sharma ex-Principal who has been transferred to DIET Basohli. In spite of several requests Aruna Sharma seems reluctant in handling over the pending charges thus hampering the smooth functioning of the institution".
It further read, "The cash book of mid-day meal prior to August 2014 along with all bill vouchers and other records pertaining to mid day meal which was laying with Aruna Sharma".
The concluding paragraph reads, "...Service Books of all staff members, contingency register, scholarship disbursement, register, check book and pass book of CD-131 with herself. The final receipts amounting to Rs. 674907 for the drawals made out of various funds allotted viz TLM strengthening of labs, purchase of textbooks, purchase of computers during the year 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, through CD 131 are still pending with Aruna Sharma."
Attached CEO Nirmal Choudhary said that the enquiry was pending and probably reminders were sent to former CEO. "Same reminder was also sent to the CEO Office by DSE, but I was in a meeting in Jammu and in my absence, the reminder was kept under carpet and my attachment order was issued", Choudhary said.
He said he would write a letter to Director School Education, Secretary of the department and would narrate the whole matter.
Sources said that incharge CEO Aruna Sharma was most junior as per seniority list. "Over two dozen officers are available in district Kathua who are senior to Aruna Sharma and could be made incharge CEO, but it was beyond imagination why Sharma was choose to be the incharge CEO, when she herself was a complainant against CEO and an enquiry was already pending against her", sources alleged, alleging that she was probably given the opportunity to fiddle with all the records pertaining to the enquiry pending against her. |
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