STATE TIMES NEWS
KISHTWAR: Kishtwar police on Saturday booked Congress Sarpanch, BJP’s Vice Sarpanch, Ward member, Gram Rozgar Sevak (GRS) and VLW for misappropriation of Government cement in Keshwan area of Thakrie block of Kishtwar District and seized 132 bags of cement from their custody.
According to reports, acting on the tip off given by people of the area alleging the nexus of Rural Development Department (RDD) officials and Panchayat representatives were involved in misappropriation of Government cement in Keshwan area of Kishtwar District and the cement meant for carrying out public welfare works is being sold in black market, a police party led by Dy.SP HQ Touseef Ahmed and SHO Police Station Kishtwar Mohammad Afzal Wani under the direct supervision of SSP Kishtwar Sandeep Kumar Wazir conducted raids and seized 132 bags of Government cement from the spot identified by the source and accordingly registered an FIR No. 10/2016 Under Section 419, 420, 467, 468 RPC against Congress Sarpanch Abdul Hamid Mir son of Nasrullah Mir (Sarpanch Keshwan-A), BJP’s Naib Sarpanch Raj Kumar son of Mohan Lal and GRS of RDD Irshad Ahmed Mir son of Abdul Aziz Mir, all resident of Keshwan.
Zaitoona Begum, ward member and wife of Bashir Ahmed Choudhary and Village level worker (VLW) of RDD Irshad Ahmed, storekeeper GRS Shakir Hussain Shah son Fareed Ahmed Shah also surfaced during the course of preliminary investigation and they will also likely to be quizzed in connection with the case. According to sources, 92 bags of cement were recovered from the possession of Naib Sarpanch Raj Kumar while 40 others were recovered from the possession of others and 10 cement bags were found unsealed and police did not found appropriate to seize those 10 cement bags.
The sources said that in addition to these 132 seized and 10 lose cement bags, 6 were sold by the accused in black market.
When contacted SSP Kishtwar Sandeep Kumar Wazir while confirming the seizer of RDD cement in Keshwan area said that police has registered the FIR against the guilty persons and assured that the case will be probed on all possible angles, adding that the guilty whosoever will not be spared. He said that ACD Kishtwar had already issued general order directing all his sub ordinates to stop all cemented works with immediate effect citing Sub Zero temperature as main reason.
ACD Kishtwar was not available for comment.
It is pertinent to mention that Assistant Commissioner Development Kishtwar had issued a general order on 1-1-2016 vide Order No. ACDK/2016/7867-81 regarding immediate stopping of cement works in District Kishtwar as the temperature is not favourable in the District for such works due to freezy winters.
Keeping in view, low temperature of the District, it was hereby ordered that all Cement works shall be temporarily stopped till the temperature rise.
