Jammu: Tightening its noose in the sensational ETT Institute scam, Crime Branch, Jammu on Monday produced third charge-sheet against former Chairman J&K Board of School Education Shiekh Bashir Ahmad, Jt. Secretary S S Slathia and ten others before the Special Judge Anti Corruption, Jammu.
This is the third charge-sheet in ETT scam for the session 2005-2007, whereas two charge-sheet for the session 2003-2005 and 2004-2006 involving 17 persons including three BOSE Officers has already been filed in the court. Crime Branch has also recommended departmental action against another former Chairman BOSE Nutan Kumar Rasutra, son of Karam Chand Rasutra, resident of Rehari Jammu for being a member of Karan Vidya Educational Trust, Jammu inspite of being a Government employee.
Those against whom charge-sheet was produced include Robin Ram Krishan, resident of Ward No. 5, Kathua, promoter of Data Ranpat Dev ETT and Research Institute, Kathua, Sanjeev Khajuria, resident of Ward No. 02, Kathua, promoter of Maha Luxmi ETT Research Institute, Kathua, Nirmaljeet Singh, resident of 117/01, Sainik Colony, Jammu at present National Highway, Barnoti District Kathua, promoter of Bahu Teacher Training and Research Institute, Sainik Colony, Jammu and AMN Teachers Training and Research Institute, Kunjwani Bye Pass, Jammu, Surinder Kumar Gupta, resident of Talab Market, Channi Himat, Jammu, promoter of Satya Playway ETT Institute,Channi Himat, Jammu, Ramanpreet Singh, resident of Ward No. 1, Bhour Camp, Jammu at present 9-A Sector D, Sainik Colony, Jammu, promoter of Preet Training and Research Institute, Satwari, Jammu and Samar Teachers Training and RI, Narwal, Jammu, Surjeet Singh Jamwal, resident of Ward No. 10, Kathua promoter of Nav Bharat ETT & RI, Kathua, Madhu Sharma, resident of Jakhani, Udhampur promoter of Bhartiya College of Education, Research and Training, Udhampur, Sarpreet Singh promoter of Popular Educational Trust ETT Institute, Kathua, Mata Vaishno Devi ETT Institute, Kathua and Vidya ETT Institute, Lakhanpur, Kathua, Harjinder Singh Anand, resident of 31 B/B Gandhi Nagar, Jammu (now expired) promoter of Bharat Institute of ETT Hatli Morh, Kathua, Gurcharan Singh Reen, son of Matwal Singh Reen, resident of H.No. E-150, Sainik Colony, Jammu promoter of Daya Instiute of Educational Training and Research, Channi Himat, Jammu, Dr. Shiekh Bashir Ahmed, resident of village Pahilipora Safapora, Ganderbal, the then Director Academics, BOSE, Jammu (now retired) and S.S.Salathia , the then Joint Secretary, ETT BOSE, Jammu (now retired).
All the accused persons except Harjinder Singh Anand, son of Late Jagat Singh Anand, resident 31 B/B Gandhi Nagar, Jammu (now expired) and Gurcharan Singh Reen, son of Matwal Singh Reen, resident of H.No. E-150, Sainik Colony, Jammu (now expired) were produced in custody.
After hearing both the sides, Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu AK Koul granted bail to all the accused.
When contacted SSP Crime Branch Jammu Mubassir Latifi said that the investigation of the case is being carried out session-wise, as the promoters and the Board officers involved only in the first three academic sessions have been charge-sheet so far. The investigation of the case with regard to the session 2006-2008 onwards is going on and in the coming days more people involved would be arrested and chargesheeted in the Court of law.
Brief facts of the case are that a communication dated 03 September 2013 from Chairman, J&K Board of School Education (BOSE), Srinagar addressed to IGP, Crime Branch, J&K Srinagar along with an enquiry report of Joint Secretary legal (KD), J&K Board of School Education, Srinagar was received in Crime Branch, Jammu from Crime Headquarters for registration of a formal case into the matter and to investigate the same. It was reported that EET was a huge scandal where money in hundreds of crores exchanges hands as bribe and almost all persons are involved in the loot. All sorts of malpractices have been done as neither registration of candidates is done in time nor classes are started or the Hostel facilities provided. The candidates are lured and a huge amount ranging between Rs. 45,000 to 80,000 is taken from each student each year for the two year course through touts for providing them the degrees / certificates by the erring institutions who do not fulfill even the basic norms and standards laid down by the National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE), but have been allowed/permitted to run this course by issuance of NOC from the State Govt. which has to be granted after conducting the periodic inspections of these institutions by the Government for basic infrastructure purposes and NOC by the BOSE for academic purposes. This huge scandal is being run by a mafia in league with J&K Board of School Education authorities, who in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy with the management of these institutions have dishonestly and fraudulently granted affiliation/permission to these institutions in gross violation of the norms in order to confer undue benefits/favours upon these institutions by abusing their official position. On the receipt of this complaint and the report case FIR No. 36/2013 u/s 420,468,471,120-B/RPC read with section 5(2) P.C. Act Svt. 2006 was registered in Crime Branch, Jammu and the investigation of the case was started by a team of officers/officials of Crime Branch, Jammu constituted vide Zonal Headquarters Crime Branch, Jammu’s order endorsement No. CR/R/FIR-36/2013/CBJ/12342-46 dated 08.11.2013.
During the course of investigation, relevant records i.e. affiliation files of 499 ETT institutions, Permission-cum-admission forms of ETT candidates for the session 2008-2010 & 2011-2013, Counseling forms and Management quota files, attendance sheets of the ETT candidates for the session 2011-2013 were obtained and seized from J&K Board of School Education, Jammu. However, the Board could not produce any registration / other record of the students for a number of sessions. The NOC / Inspection files of ETT institutes of Jammu Province were also obtained from School Education Department, Civil Secretariat J&K, Jammu / Srinagar and seized. Requisite information with regard to the ETT course was obtained from the BOSE through a number of correspondences, but the Board could not provide the office record of correspondence of Chairman / Secretary and Director Academics pertaining to the ETT institutes, nor could the BOSE provide any record of rules / regulations framed by the BOSE before starting this course. Seized ETT files of the Board / Secretariat were scrutinized and it was found that a total of 22 promoters had been given permission to establish ETT institutes for the session 2003-2005. The permissions were given for setting up of eleven ETT institutes each in Jammu and Kathua Districts.