The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Kashmir of the Crime Branch J&K has filed a chargesheet against seven persons in connection with the alleged misappropriation of government funds sanctioned for the construction of a school building in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said.
The chargesheet in FIR No. 43/2018 was presented before the court of the Special Anti-Corruption Judge in Baramulla against the accused for offences under Sections 420 and 120-B of the RPC read with Section 5(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, they said.
The case was registered following a written complaint alleging embezzlement of funds sanctioned under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for the construction of a school building at Hampora village in Kralgund area of Langate.
During the investigation, it was found that an amount of Rs 5,73,592 had been released through various cheques by the then Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) Langate, mostly routed through the first teacher of Primary School Hampora, officials said.
However, the works approved under the project were not executed as per norms. On the ground, only the school building structure existed, while the kitchen block, toilet and ramp sanctioned under the project were not constructed despite the release of funds, they said.
The probe further revealed that the accused officials, in connivance with a contractor, allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy and allotted the construction work in violation of SSA guidelines, which mandate that such works be executed through members of the Village Education Committee (VEC), the officials added.
Investigators also found that the approved site plan of a three-roomed school building with a separate kitchen, toilet and ramp was altered and instead a double-storey structure with four rooms was constructed.
The contractor allegedly failed to hand over the building to the education department after completion, while the concerned officials did not take possession of the structure, allowing another accused person to occupy the building illegally, they said.
Based on the evidence gathered during the investigation, the case has been challaned before the court for judicial determination, officials added.
