JAMMU — The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday booked a senior government officer and carried out searches at four locations in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The ACB also recovered and seized incriminating material during the searches, they said.
The action followed a specific input leading to a secret verification into allegations that the Director of State Motor Garages, Malik Tahir Gani, had amassed assets far beyond his known sources of income, an ACB spokesperson said.
Gani, a resident of Srinagar’s Sanat Nagar, and currently residing in Jammu’s Gandhi Nagar, is posted as Director, State Motor Garages, a body under Jammu and Kashmir Transport Department, they said.
The verification confirmed that during his tenure as the Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) in Anantnag and Pulwama, as well as serving as the Director of State Motor Garages, Gani allegedly amassed various assets. These assets include plots, houses, shops, shopping complexes, and multiple bank accounts registered in his name, as well as in the names of his family members and relatives, the spokesperson said.
The assets were found to be grossly disproportionate to his known sources of income, he said.
Based on the findings, ACB said a prima facie case of criminal misconduct was established, and consequently, a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered, he said.
During the investigation, search warrants were obtained from the Court of the Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Jammu, he said.
Subsequent raids were conducted at four locations, including his residential houses at Sanat Nagar and Hyderpora in Srinagar, his government quarter at Gandhi Nagar in Jammu, and his official premises at New Plot, Jammu, he said. Further investigation is underway, the ACB added. — (PTI)