Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau registered a case against a government employee posted in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar for possession of assets allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income.
ACB said the case was registered against Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat, Firdousabad, Batamaloo, Srinagar presently posted as Nazir in the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar.
The ACB carried out a discreet verification into the financial transactions and asset holdings of the said public servant which revealed that Imtiyaz Bhat has accumulated assets grossly disproportionate to his known and legitimate sources of income.
The assets identified during the verification included, a residential house situated at Firdousabad, Batamaloo, Srinagar, constructed on land measuring 11 marlas; an additional structure with appurtenant land measuring 6.5 marlas at the same location; land measuring 10 marlas at Mouza Nowgam, Srinagar; land measuring 13 marlas at Mouza Nowgam, Srinagar and Movable assets including luxury vehicles such as a Toyota Fortuner, Maruti Wagon-R, and Renault Duster.
The verification also brought to light substantial expenditures incurred on the higher education of his children. Scrutiny of various bank accounts revealed multiple suspicious transactions and unexplained cash deposits.
The ACB said Imtiyaz Bhat and his family members were found operating several bank lockers in J&K Bank, and were in possession of multiple immovable properties of considerable value. The subject public servant was also found to be maintaining a lifestyle that is inconsistent with his declared income.
“In view of the above findings, a formal case has been registered against Imtiyaz Ahmad Bhat at Police Station Anti-Corruption Bureau, Srinagar, under Section 13(1)(b) read with Section 13(2) for criminal misconduct,” the statement said.
Following the registration of the FIR, search warrants were obtained from the competent Court and simultaneous search operations were carried out at the residential and other premises of the accused.
The searches were conducted by ACB teams in the presence of Executive Magistrates and were facilitated by the local police and other agencies. During the course of these searches, incriminating documents and evidence pertaining to both movable and immovable assets were recovered.
Further investigation in the matter is underway, ACB said.
