Premises of L-G’s former adviser searched by CBI
BASEER KHAN WAS A DIVISIONAL COMMISSIONER IN KASHMIR WHEN HE WAS APPOINTED AS ADVISER TO THE FIRST J&K L-G, GC MURMU, IN 2020
SRINAGAR: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday conducted searches at 41 places, including the premises of Baseer Khan, the former adviser to Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, across states in connection with a case involving fake arms licences, officials familiar with the development said.
The agency said its teams conducted raids at Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Jammu, Doda, Rajouri, Kishtwar and Ramban districts in Jammu & Kashmir and also in Leh, Delhi and Bhind (Madhya Pradesh).
“(The searches were conducted) at the official & residential premises of around 14 then public servants including then DMs (IAS/KAS), DIO, Clerks etc; around 05 private persons (middlemen/agents); around 10 Gun houses/dealers in an on-going investigation of a case related to Arms licence racket,” a CBI statement read.
Khan’s house is in Baghat in uptown Srinagar. “A team of about six people were in the house of Khan for up to two hours,” said a police officer aware of the details.
Khan was a divisional commissioner in Kashmir when he was appointed as advisor to the first J&K LG, G C Murmu, in March 2020. After Manoj Sinha became LG, Khan continued as his advisor.
Last week, he was suddenly removed from his post following a communication from the ministry of home affairs to the Union Territory administration.
The case pertains to a multistate racket first investigated by the Rajasthan ATS in 2017 after it seized weapons bought using fake arms licences which were made in J&K’s Kathua and Kupwara districts. It then decided to refer the case to the CBI as the footprints of the racket went beyond Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh, J&K and Punjab. MP ATS had also probed the fake arms license case separately.
The CBI took over the case in October 2018 at the then J&K government’s request after the names of a few senior officers emerged in the investigation for issuing arms licences under forged documents.