Srinagar: The Anti-Corruption Bureau(ACB) on Wednesday arrested Muhammad Shafi Dar, former chairman of Jammu & Kashmir Cooperative Bank, who is one of the main accused in Rs 223 crore loan scam. The arrest took place a day after the ACB issued a look-out notice and announced a reward for giving tip-off about his whereabouts.
“Mohd Shafi Dar, ex- chairman, J&K Co-operative Bank Ltd. who was evading arrest since the registration of the case was today arrested and taken into custody by Anti- Corruption Bureau and his interrogation is going on,” a spokesman of the ACB said in a statement.
The probe carried out by the premier agency has revealed that Muhammad Shafi Dar, Chairman J&K Co-operative Bank Ltd, Rajbagh sanctioned Rs 223.00 crore fraudulently in favour of non-existent Co-operative Society ‘River Jhelum Co-operative house Colony’ at Shivpora Srinagar.
It also revealed that the loan was sanctioned without adhering to any codal formalities like obtaining the details of the society such as its balance sheet, profit and loss account business, activities being done by it, income tax returns and details of construction of the board resolutions, the spokesman said.
It is worthwhile to mention here that J&K High Court had dismissed a plea by Mohammad Shafi Dar seeking quashing of FIR by the ACB. “The report of Enquiry Officer (Deputy Registrar (Counsel) Cooperative Societies J&K) dated 5th February 2020 is self-explanatory and speaks of voluminous, and if discussed here would open a pandora’s box for discourse, discussion and threadbare examination and trial, which is the exclusive domain of Investigating Agency and Trial Court, and not that of this Court in exercise of inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC,” a bench of Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul in a judgment on Dar’s plea.
Headed by senior IPS officer Anand Jain, the ACB has waged a war against corruption in Jammu and Kashmir in the past 13 months. It has also unearthed multi-crore loan scams and irregularities in J&K Bank and other financial institutions.
