Sixteen years after a case was registered for alleged withdrawal of “fraudulent payments”, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has filed a chargesheet against 22 persons, including National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi.
Ruhullah called the case an attempt to silence him and said he would “fight it out”.
In 2009, the ACB, then known as the Vigilance Organisation, filed a case against two Collectors of Lakes and Waterways Development Authority, four government officials and 16 “beneficiaries”, including Ruhullah and his extended family. The ACB filed the case for the alleged withdrawal of “fraudulent payments by way of making insertions and tampering with the Revenue records in district Budgam”.
“The case was registered on the basis of a joint surprise check (JSC) conducted by ACB into the allegation of abuse of official position by the officers/officials of Rukhs and Farms department Kashmir by way of making insertions and tampering with the revenue records which led to the subsequent drawl of fraudulent payments against the excess state land and shown allotted to Kamas (Tenants) at Rakh-e-Aerth Budgam,” the ACB had alleged.
It was alleged that officials of the revenue and agriculture department “conspired with certain beneficiaries to fraudulently inflate land records to claim excess compensation”.
“These officials abused their positions to show excessive land possession in favour of beneficiaries leading to undue payments and losses to the state exchequer,” the ACB alleged.
The ACB said that due to the “inflated quantity of land, the excessive payment to the Kamas/tenants was 38.20 lakhs”. The accused beneficiaries include Ruhullah and his uncles.
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While the case was filed in 2009, the ACB filed the chargesheet only now.
“I want to tell them such childish acts can’t silence me,” Ruhullah said. “If something can silence me, it is the return of the rights of the people, the restoration of Article 370. The atrocities that are happening with Indian Muslims, stop them and I will keep silence. The state (J&K) acceded to India on certain conditions which you broke, restore them and I will keep silence. Restore the dignity, constitutional rights, autonomy of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and that will be the day, I will keep silence.”
