Examiner Bureau | Srinagar:
The Special Crime Wing (SCW) of the Crime Branch Kashmir has filed a chargesheet against three serving and retired Agriculture Department officials in an alleged service-record manipulation case involving the use of a forged date-of-birth certificate to obtain undue benefits.
The chargesheet in FIR No. 02/2022 was presented before the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Srinagar, under Sections 420, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The accused have been identified as Abdul Rashid Gojri, a helper at the Sub-Divisional Agriculture Office, Beerwah; Manzoor Ahmad Wani, a section officer in the office of the Chief Agriculture Officer, Budgam; and Peer Abdul Rashid, a retired Sub-Divisional Agriculture Officer.
According to the Crime Branch, the case originated from a communication received on February 15, 2022, from the Deputy Director Agriculture, Central Kashmir, regarding alleged manipulation of service records by officials to secure undue benefits.
During verification, investigators allegedly found that Gojri had submitted a forged date-of-birth certificate showing his date of birth as February 27, 1973, instead of the actual date, February 27, 1975. The findings led to the registration of the case at Police Station Crime Branch Kashmir, now known as Police Station SCW Kashmir.
The investigation further revealed that Gojri was 17 years and two months old when he was initially engaged as a daily wager in the Agriculture Department.
The Crime Branch alleged that Wani and Peer Abdul Rashid facilitated the entry of the incorrect date of birth into Gojri’s service records by disregarding directions for document verification, paving the way for the regularisation of his services.
The agency said the investigation established the offences mentioned in the FIR against all three accused. The chargesheet was filed after obtaining the requisite approval and sanction concerning the two serving government employees.
The case will now proceed before the competent court. The Crime Branch has also advised the public to remain vigilant against fraud and report such incidents to the authorities.
