Crime Branch files FIR in recruitment scam in law department

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JAMMU: A scam has surfaced in the law department wherein three candidates joined regular service on manipulating the actual selection list. Interestingly, their CID verification was also done in due course of time with the other actual selected candidates.

The Crime Branch wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has registered an FIR 46/2024 to unearth the scandal that how these candidates managed to get regular government service without the knowledge of the senior most government officers and officials in this information technology era.

The sleuths from the Crime Branch conducted raids and seized four computers and some files from the Law Department at Civil Secretariat Jammu. The data of these computers will be scrutinized to ascertain the fake entries made to illegally appoint the regular employees in the law department.

According to the FIR, correspondence Law-Estt/40/2024 dated March 2, 2024 from Secretary to Government, Department of Law, Justice and PA addressed to Special Director General Crime Branch J&K Jammu and further endorsed to this office vide letter No. CHQ/CLT./J-600/2024/E7504353 dated June 21, 2024, wherein it is alleged that on February 20, 2024, during the course of regular verification of Government Orders, it was found that one Government Order No. 14581-JK (LD) of 2023 dated November 1, 2023 under endorsement No. LAW-Estt/119/2023-10 dated November 1, 2023 for appointment of Rakesh Thakur, son of Jagir Singh, resident of Marta Tehsil Ramnagar, District Udhampur as Junior Assistant could not be verified from the entries in the relevant Government Order register.

The FIR states that during the enquiry two candidates namely Rakesh Thakur and Mohammad Yaseen Dar in connivance and assistance with Mohammad Yasin Bhat Legal Assistant by using login ID and password had managed to first apply on EV’s portal for verifying their credentials stating in the details therein that they were already serving government employees from year 2016 to 2023 and CID was requested to re-verify their employment details reports.

After verification of records it was found that government order 14581-LD (Acq) of 2023 dated November 11, 2023 was issued under endorsement LAW-AK/575/2023-10 and it was the genuine order regarding a motion for filling of revision before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Srinagar.

The commissions and omissions on the part of accused persons prima-facie constitute offences punishable under sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 IPC and as such a formal case is registered in Crime Branch Jammu. The Crime Branch Jammu has received numerous similar complaints from various departments and these are being verified to ascertain the facts.