DDK Srinagar in-house scam—[IV]

CBI officials too bribed by DDK Srinagar bosses

Some FIRs challaned; some complaints hushed up in lieu of money, programmes; SP, Inspector under scanner

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Oct 3: Even as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was twice assigned the task of investigating large scale bunglings in Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Srinagar and it has submitted challan in both FIRs in an anti-corruption court in Srinagar, some officers of the country’s premier investigating agency have allegedly hushed up complaints against two Directors of the station “in exchange for cash and programmes”. One among them, holding the rank of Superintendent of Police, was recently removed from ACB Srinagar and attached to the agency’s Chandigarh office, days before his retirement from service.

While pursuing investigation into Rs 64 Crore ‘in-house productions scam’ of DDK Srinagar, Early Times hit upon a starling disclosure from well-placed authoritative sources. Documentary evidence in possession of this newspaper reveals that on the basis of specific inputs, a Srinagar-based Inspector of the agency compiled an information and submitted it to the head of ACB Srinagar, Kundan Lal Raina, in October 2011.

Contents of the complaint said that then Head of Programmes (HOP) and incharge Director DDK Srinagar, Mrs. Shami Shair, had been fraudulently drawing full approved budget of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 on account of producing each episode of ‘Bharat Nirman’ series. According to the official note submitted to the SP, Mrs. Shair, who was herself Programme Officer of the series, used to get the programme produced for total of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 through a retired Programme Executive of DDK Srinagar, Ghulam Nabi Dar.

According to the complaint, even after his retirement, Dar continued to get the programme produced while manipulating DDK’s cameras, editing suits and other infrastructure during the course of shooting and editing of other programmes of the Fixed Point Chart. The information complained that being incharge of the series since 2009, Mrs. Shair and Mr Dar had already swindled an amount of Rs 40 Lakh to Rs 50 Lakh on account of producing the series ‘Bharat Nirman’.

Segments of the Prime Minister’s flagship programme ‘Bharat Nirman’, which is still continuing through a dubious channel, contain awareness on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Indira Awas Yojana, Rural Electrification and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

It was pointed out in the information that payment on account of producing this programme series was being drawn in some 40 names which were mostly fake with fake bank accounts. A number of payees were allegedly the HOP’s relatives and acquaintances.

The information added that with the advantage of the fraudulently drawn proceeds, Mrs. Shair had acquired assets disproportionate to her known sources of income. It made specific reference to one of her properties allegedly raised in recent past. According to the information, she purchased eight Kanals of land, close to Srinagar-Leh highway, at Nunnar in Ganderbal district for Rs 24 Lakhs and thereafter built a house on the premises.

The SP, in turn, assigned the preliminary investigation to another Inspector of ACB Srinagar, who was from J&K Police and has been on deputation with CBI for the last six years.

Within next few days, the SP as well as the Inspector, established contact with then incharge Director of DDK Srinagar. They completely hushed up the matter in mysterious conditions. Both were put under scanner on the orders of Special Director CBI on charges of being “hand-in-glove” with some accused officials and subverting preliminary inquiries allegedly in consideration for pecuniary benefits. Within months, the agency top brass, according to sources, received credible information that DDK Srinagar officials had managed to hush up the investigation with cash payment of Rs 3 Lakh besides in-house programmes worth Rs 5 Lakh given to two particular persons named by the two CBI officials.

Earlier in 2012, one of J&K’s most prominent private producers and Chairman of United Television Professionals Forum, Zamir Ashai, submitted a written complaint to SP CBI Srinagar with the allegation that some top officials of DDK Srinagar were involved in swindling sizable funds of Government of India. When the complainant enquired about the status of his complaint two months later, SP told him over telephone that CBI “does not investigate such petty matters”. “We take up cases where Rs 100 Crore or Rs 200 Crore is involved”, he reportedly told the complainant.

While as a secret inquiry is still underway in the conduct of the Inspector, the SP was removed from Srinagar and attached to the agency’s Chandigarh office on September 15^th, 2012. He joined there and retired from service within days on September 30^th. Sources said that CBI was looking into a heap of similar complaints against the retired SP.

Attempts to get the retired SP’s reaction failed as he could not be reached over telephone. Sources said that a prominent Kashmiri singer, known for his liaison with the former CBI official, was likely to be questioned to ascertain identity of the two persons who acted as “facility providers” for the programmes given to the two officials by DDK Srinagar.

On orders of CBI Directorate in New Delhi, SP incharge of ACB Jammu, Dr Arman Deep Singh, who is widely known for his honesty, integrity and competence, was additionally placed as head of ACB Srinagar. A team under his command and surveillance is now investigating an assortment of complaints with regard to the conduct of DDK Srinagar officials, including two former incharge Directors---Dr Rafeeq Masoodi and Shami Shair---in the Rs 64 Crore in-house productions scam that has been analyzed in detail last month by a two-member team from Directorate General of Doordarshan.

The prominent Kashmiri singer, along with his wife, is already facing serious charges in a fraudulently made production of patriotic songs at DD’s Central Production Centre (CPC) in New Delhi. While investigating an FIR filed in New Delhi, CBI has observed that the Kashmiri singer had been roped in by a Kashmiri DD official, then posted in CPC. Both drew an amount of Rs 12 Lakh on account of producing Kashmiri patriotic songs. They claimed that some female singers had been brought to Delhi all the way from Srinagar for making the production at CPC. The patriotic songs were telecast on Republic day and Independence Day.

Investigating a complaint, CBI learned that a group of different Kashmiri female singers had been filmed for a separately paid song series in Srinagar and none of them had ever traveled to Delhi for this purpose. Investigating Officer, Inspector Subhash Bhalla, and his team observed during the investigation that payment cheques amounting to lakhs of Rupees had been drawn in the name of a Srinagar-based housewife, Shagufta Shams, who had no knowledge or connection to Doordarshan.

An account was opened in the name of Shagufta Shams fraudulently by the Kashmiri singer and his wife at a branch of J&K Bank in Srinagar. While as the prominent Kashmiri singer, who also works as a private producer, introduced and identified the account holder (Shagufta Shams), his wife’s photographs and signatures were pasted on the bank’s registers. It became clear during CBI’s investigation that the CPC payments had been deposited in the same account that was actually operated by the singer’s wife, Ayesha, by way of fraud.

The CBI team learned in Srinagar that actual Shagufta Shams had delivered a baby just 10 days before the “Date of Shooting” at CPC and she had never traveled to Delhi for the shooting of a ‘Rouf’ musical series, made for the Republic Day. CBI New Delhi has completed the investigation, established the charges and filed challan in a court in the union capital.

[To be continued…..]

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