Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, April 20
A court in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday convicted five former officials in a decades-old case involving the misappropriation of foodgrains and related supplies, prosecutors said.
The Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Court in Anantnag found the officials guilty under provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act and the Ranbir Penal Code, in connection with irregularities reported in the Pahalgam area in 1990.
The case relates to the alleged embezzlement of foodgrains and empty storage bags by storekeepers posted at various food supply centres in the Pahalgam circle between April and September 1989, according to the prosecution.
The accused were convicted under Section 5(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, read with Section 409 of the Ranbir Penal Code, which pertains to criminal breach of trust by public servants.
The case was registered by the Vigilance Organisation Kashmir – now the Anti-Corruption Bureau – following a complaint by the Food and Supplies Department in 1989, which alleged losses amounting to more than Rs 3.64 lakh.
Investigators filed a chargesheet in 2003 after what officials described as a detailed probe, and the matter subsequently proceeded through trial.
The court has scheduled further hearings on April 24 to determine the quantum of punishment for the convicted officials.
