Arms licences: CBI launches raids across Capital, J&K
House of Srinagar ex-DCP Shahid Iqbal Choudhary among those raided by CBI
JAMMU : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday conducted raids at multiple locations, in Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi in connection with its probe into a case related to illegal issuance of arms licenses.
The Central Bureau of Investigation registered the case in 2018 a year after Rajasthan’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) unearthed the scam.
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday began raids at 40 locations, including at premises of bureaucrats in Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi, including IAS officer and former deputy magistrate of Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, in connection with its probe into an alleged irregularities in the issuance of thousands of arms licences to non-residents on forged documents, officials here said.
The CBI registered the case in 2018 a year after Rajasthan’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) unearthed the scam. The ATS arrested over 50 people for their alleged involvement in the illegal issuance of the licences. According to the ATS, over 3,000 permits were illegally granted allegedly in the name of army personnel.
Deputy magistrates in Jammu and Kashmir are accused of issuing the licenses in bulk allegedly based on forged documents to non-residents between 2012 and 2016 “in lieu of monetary consideration” in violation of norms, people aware of the matter said.
Based on ATS findings, then Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra had handed over the matter to the CBI.
“The CBI is conducting searches at around 40 locations in Jammu, Srinagar, Udhampur, Rajouri, Anantnag, Baramulla, Delhi.
“They include official and residential premises of then public servants including IAS (Indian Administrative Service officers) and around 20 gun in the houses in the ongoing investigation of the case related to arms licences racket,” said an official, who did not want to be named.
It was alleged that more than 278k arms licences were issued to the non-entitled persons. CBI also collected documents pertaining to the issuance of said armed licences allegedly spread over 22 districts of the erstwhile state of J&K.
“During investigation and scrutiny of documents, the role of certain gun dealers was found, who in connivance with the public servants i.e. the then DM and ADM of concerned district had allegedly issued such illegal arms licenses to the ineligible persons.
“It was also alleged that the persons who got these licenses were not residents of the places from where the said arms licenses were issued. Investigation is continuing,” the official added.
Choudhary, whose residence in Srinagar was also searched by the CBI, issued a clarification on his Twitter handle.
“With reference to media reports I’ve to confirm that CBI did search my residence & found nothing incriminating in ongoing arms license probe. Media friends may note the probe covers 4 years across all districts. I am fully answerable to CBI for my tenure. Stats from my tenure are below” he wrote while appending the figures of arms licences issued by him as deputy magistrate of Reasi, Udhampur and Kathua between 2012 and 2016.
The residence of Choudhary’s brother Zafar Iqbal Choudhary was also raided by the agency. During the period of 2012-16, which is under CBI probe, 36,000 such arms licences were issued from Udhampur district of which about 1,700 or around four per cent were issued during the tenure of IAS officer Shahid Choudhary, who was posted as deputy commissioner from May 2015 to May 2016, said Zafar.
Among these, he added, procedural errors were found in 15-20 such licences issued during Shahid Choudhary’s tenure.
Choudhary was posted as district magistrate (DM) in three districts -- Reasi, Kathua and Udhampur -- of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, now a Union Territory, during the 2012-16 period.
Of the 56,000 licences issued in these three districts during the period, only 1,720 licences, about three per cent of the total, were issued during his tenure, which is the lowest by any DM in any district, Zafar added.
The 1,720 licences are 0.38 per cent of 449k licences issued in Jammu and Kashmir during 2012-16 and among those 15-20 are under the scanner for procedural errors, he said.
“Oversight or procedural indiscretion in a few cases, not more than 15-20, cannot be completely ruled out as this is a human intervention process which passes through several clerical stages,” Zafar said.
He said the IAS officer has a spotless career of 16 years in the civil services with no irregularity reported under his watch and no allegation made against him.
“There is absolutely no question of corruption in the process of issuing arms licences under his watch. As evident from the number of licences issued under his tenure, only three per cent of all licences, any pecuniary consideration is not even thinkable,” Zafar added.