5 officers suspended in J&K in anti-graft drive

 New Delhi: Thirty-five senior officers allegedly involved in corruption have been placed under suspension in Jammu and Kashmir, top sources said on Wednesday. Five officials from the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Public Distribution, two from the transport department, one each from the Revenue department and Rural Development department, 24 from the forest, ecology and environment department and two from the Public Works (R&D) department have been placed under suspension. The decision to suspend these errant officers was taken during the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s anti-graft drive in the Union Territory. The administration has launched a crackdown on corrupt officials this month. Promoting zero tolerance towards corruption, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha recently empowered the vigilance units of various departments to take stringent measures against the corrupt officials. Sources said that the Lieutenant Governor has also directed the district-level vigilance officers to take immediate action against the corrupt officials and recommend registration of FIR without delay.The directives were issued after the Lieutenant Governor chaired a high-level meeting with the administrative secretaries at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar, sources said.In addition to the suspensions, following tip-offs the Anti-Corruption Bureau carried out raids at several places in the union territory on Monday and seized incriminating documents from various places. “The probe is still on, said a source.Till October this year, the ACB had registered a total 61 corruption cases. The Jammu unit of the anti-graft bureau had registered 29 corruption cases and Kashmir unit had filed 32 cases. In 2019, a total 73 FIRs were lodged against various government officials.Earlier this year in March, the administration created an economic offences wing in the ACB with its headquarters at Jammu. The administration also approved 56 posts for the newly-created wing which would be headed by the Superintendent of Police.