Budgam, Oct 5: Budgam Police have busted an alleged racket involving the issuance of fake government appointment orders and promises of government subsidies, arresting two persons and recovering a large number of documents and other materials allegedly used to dupe people.
Addressing a press conference at Beerwah Police Station, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Budgam Hariprasad K.K. said the investigation began after a complaint was filed on August 17 by Shabir Ahmad Khan against Firdous Nabi, son of Ghulam Nabi Bhat, a resident of Zabgulla village.
According to the SSP, Shabir alleged that Firdous had taken Rs 3 lakh from him on the promise of securing him a job as a Special Police Officer (SPO).
The complainant also submitted an alleged appointment/recommendation letter purportedly issued in the name of Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and addressed to the Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir. The letter contained the names of several persons allegedly recommended for appointment as SPOs, including Shabir Ahmad Khan.
“After receiving the fake order, we initiated a preliminary inquiry to establish its authenticity. The inquiry was subsequently converted into FIR No. 183/2026 at Police Station Beerwah,” SSP Hariprasad said, adding that Firdous Nabi was arrested in the case.
During the investigation, police identified another alleged accused, Jahangir Ahmad Dar, son of Ghulam Mohammad Dar, a resident of Rathsun, Beerwah. He was subsequently arrested, the SSP said.
The investigation widened after Abid Nasir Mir, a resident of Rajpora, Pulwama, approached police on September 26, alleging that Jahangir Ahmad Dar had promised him a substantial government subsidy.
Police said they also found the alleged involvement of Firdous Nabi in the subsidy-related case. A special police team subsequently raided Jahangir Ahmad Dar’s rented accommodation at Nanak Nagar in Jammu, where several items were recovered.
According to the SSP, the seized material included a fake Bar Association stamp, 12 ATM cards, allegedly forged orders purportedly issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and blank letterheads of Jammu and Kashmir Bank.
Police also seized Jahangir Ahmad Dar’s passport and visa, besides a diary allegedly containing details of money collected from different individuals and the purposes for which the money was taken.
The SSP said several more complaints have surfaced against the accused in different police stations and from different districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
On September 26, police received two additional complaints. In one, Muneer Ahmad Bhat alleged that he had been promised admission to a foreign university and had paid around Rs 2.3 lakh.
The same day, Saleema Wani of Beerwah allegedly complained that she had paid Rs 15 lakh on the promise of two government jobs, including one for a relative.
On September 27, another complaint was registered at Police Station Chadoora by Qunsar Gul, who alleged that Rs 27 lakh had been taken on the promise of two jobs—one as an executive officer and another as a nursing position at SKIMS Soura.
On October 3, another complaint was received from Ashraf Wani regarding the alleged issuance of a fake SPO appointment order. An FIR was registered at Police Station Beerwah and later transferred to Police Station Budgam, he said.
Police also said that cheque-bounce cases involving the accused are pending before different courts.
According to SSP Hariprasad, the alleged racket targeted people from different socio-economic backgrounds, including members of economically weaker families. He said the accused had also allegedly collected money from daily-wage workers in the name of helping them resolve issues related to their salaries.
The SSP said Jahangir Ahmad Dar, who is an advocate by profession, allegedly used his visits to the civil secretariats in Srinagar and Jammu to establish contact with people visiting government offices with grievances.
“He was meeting people visiting the secretariat with their grievances, building relationships with them and allegedly promising government jobs before taking money from them,” the SSP said.
Police have also seized air tickets, passports and visas belonging to the accused, he added.
“More arrests are likely in the case as we are tracking other persons allegedly involved in the racket. Once arrested, the details of those persons will be made public. The investigation is continuing ,” SSP Hariprasad said.
