CBI likely to investigate Srinagar DD bungling

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

Srinagar, Sep 20: In order to restore credibility of the Central institutions in Jammu and Kashmir, country’s premier investigation agency, Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI), is being asked by Government of India to conduct a thorough inquiry into the serious charges of irregularities, corruption and misuse of official position against certain officials who remained posted at Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Srinagar in the last four years.

Highly placed authoritative sources revealed to Early Times that the Government of India had taken a serious note of investigative reports of this newspaper and other media outlets regarding malpractices and financial irregularities, besides charges of corruption and misuse of official position against some officials who remained posted in Srinagar in the last four years. On the basis of this cognizance, CBI was being directed to conduct a thorough investigation into the reported omissions and commissions of these officials.

Sources said that not satisfied with the relationship of some former officials of CBI’s Srinagar office with two successive heads of DDK Srinagar, the investigation was likely to be assigned to CBI’s Jammu office. One of the senior officials of CBI’s Srinagar office has been lately removed and placed under suspension.

According to these sources, if assigned to CBI, the investigation would remain particularly focused on the alleged frauds committed in the station’s daily morning transmission ‘Good Morning J&K’ and the flagship programmes of Government of India like ‘Krishi Darshan’ on which DDK Srinagar officials have reportedly drawn huge amounts of money and the total expenditure on each programme has been less than 30% of the approved budget.

Sources said that all individual payee’s and so-called facility providers of these two programmes would be got identified in view of serious allegations and complaints that most of the payees were either fictitious persons or relatives, friends, neighbours and acquaintances of the Producer. All transactions of these payees’ bank accounts could be scanned.

Sources said that CBI’s technical resources could be used to know whether the programmes contained fresh DVC Pro-50 segments or the old Betacam footage from already paid and already telecast programmes had been fraudulently used and fresh payments drawn against the same.

Sources said that in addition to this, CBI could also carry out a detailed investigation as to how a former Director of DDK Srinagar had created huge liability of Rs 37 Cr in just few months before his transfer to Directorate General in the first six months of the year 2011 while approving hundreds of proposals of so-called in-house programmes submitted to him by over a dozen producers.

Central Vigilance Cell of Doordrashan is already investigating this scandal and a DDG, namely Dr Rafeeq Masoodi, has been already placed under suspension. An Administrative Officer (AO), who functioned as Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) at DDK Srinagar, has also been placed under suspension days before his retirement from service earlier this year. He is alleged to have released an amount of Rs 50 lakh “out of turn” in favour of the payees given by some private producers besides the payees of the lately removed Director’s programmes. Directorate General of DD had frozen these payments till completion on the departmental inquiry.

According to these sources, CBI sleuths would also investigate charges that at least two of the senior officials of DDK Srinagar had purchased or built numerous residential houses and commercial properties, both in Jammu and Srinagar, out of the “bribe proceeds” they got from a number of private producers on account of approving their “inhouse” serials and musical programmes in the year 2011. One of these officials has reportedly acquired a prime piece of land behind Humhama Police Station, near Srinagar Airport, and got a three-storeyed building constructed through one of her subordinates in 2010-12.  

Same official, according to sources, is also facing charges of misleading the union Ministry of Home Affairs as well as Directorate General of Doordarshan in the matter of getting a 12 episode programme series commissioned in the name of her niece. According to a written complaint with Mandi House, the lady producer is actually a regular government employee posted in J&K State Board of School Education.

According to the complaint, MHA funds worth Rs 24 lakh have been directly deposited into the account of the DDK Srinagar official’s niece who has been “fraudulently shown as Producer of the programme series commissioned by MHA through DD Kashir in 2010-11”.  

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