Srinagar, July 25: Apni Party General Secretary, Vikram Malhotra has questioned investigations of the Central Bureau of Investigation in India’s biggest arms license scam in Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement to the press, Malhotra said that the CBI is conducting raids and searches in a scam which happened during 2012-16. After years of gap, the raids are being conducted at the official residences of the IAS officers shows how serious the investigating agency is.
“It seems that the investigating agency is trying to shield the culprits’ officers who are involved in this scam by providing them ample time to destroy evidence and manage escape routes,” said Vikram Malhotra.
He further said that “In the ongoing investigation into the biggest gun racket, what CBI searches for in their residences. The CBI should enquire about the palaces these IAS officers have acquired from the ill-gotten money within the capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu. The source of funding of these palaces must be investigated.”
He said if CBI is looking for documents in the gap of a few years, then they are mistaken. The investigation and subsequent raids seem to be an eye-wash, he reiterated.
He said that the IAS officers who are involved in the scam are enjoying prime postings and no one is questioning their integrity.
“Such officers should immediately be attached by removing them from the prime posts. If the CBI is really wanting to unearth the scam, they should come out with full details and names of those IAS officers who have been involved in the scam,” he added.
He said that instead of CBI which is probing the scam, it is surprising to see that an IAS officer is coming out with the details claiming that “nothing incriminating found” in the ongoing arms license probe from his residence.
He said that “It is disastrous to keep them on prime postings. We believe that there should be no place for the officers who have tented images in administration as they will not be able to deliver in public interest.”
“This strong bureaucratic lobby has failed the Govt of India’s developmental policies in J&K. From the last three years, bureaucracy has become more powerful and they have no accountability which has added to the suffering of the general public,” said Apni Party’s State General Secretary, Vikram Malhotra.
He demanded a transparent and in-depth investigation into the arms scam to root out the corrupt elements in the administration. (KNT)