High Court grants 3 more months to CBI to conclude probe
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday granted three more months to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conclude the probe in multi-crore scam in Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.
A division bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey granted three more months to CBI after the agency moved an application seeking more time for the probe.
In the application moved through additional SP Davinder Singh, the CBI pleaded that “no investigation could be carried out in the state due to imposition of continuous curfew”.
“Whatever progress was possible, it was done by carrying investigation in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan,” CBI said.
The agency submitted that the “Bank accounts clandestinely opened and operated for siphoning of funds of JKCA have been traced and money glow chart has been prepared and concerned persons are being examined”.
On Mar 15, 2016, the High Court had granted three months to CBI to conclude the probe in multi-crore scam in Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association.
The CBI was handed over the investigation of the case after the court had pulled up J&K Police for carrying out the investigation in a casual manner.
“Despite a huge scam unveiled by Probe Committee in its interim report and not taking effective steps in recovering the swindled money coupled with the fact that one of the beneficiaries namely Aslam Goni indicted by the interim report has swindled amount exceeding rupees forty crores together with Ahsan Mirza and Saleem Khan who has served the State as advocate general in the former regime, rendered it imperative that investigation is transferred to CBI,” the court had said.
Two former cricketers—Majid Yaqoob Dar, a former Ranji Trophy player and Nissar Ahmad Khan—a club level cricketer—had filed a Public Interest Litigation before Jammu and Kashmir High Court and sought probe into the alleged multi-crore scam in JKCA.
In April 2014, the court had expressed its dissatisfaction over the pace of investigation and observed that the “compliance report with regard to investigation was a replica of earlier report filed in the case”.
Apart from high-level investigation, the petitioners sought directions for recovery of the money that has been allegedly swindled by former general secretary and former chief administrative officer.
On March 10, 2012 police had registered a case (FIR 27/2012) following a complaint from the then chairman JKCA, Muhammad Aslam Goni through a fax mentioning that as per the report of then treasurer, Manzoor Ahmad Wazir, bogus accounts on JKCA funds were being operated in the various J&K Bank branches by the ex-General Secretary and then Treasurer under their joint signatures. Goni had also alleged misappropriation of funds in JKCA. The scam surfaced in JKCA which is funded by Board of Control for Cricket in India.
A written complaint in this regard came to be lodged by some Members of the Working Committee of the Association regarding some bogus accounts run by previous office bearers—Muhammad Aslam Goni, Saleem Khan and Ahsan Mirza.