Srinagar, Apr 2: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a charge sheet against five officials of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and one private beneficiary in connection with a corruption case involving violations of building permission norms.
According to an official statement, the charge sheet was produced in case FIR No. 11/2020 before the Court of Additional Special Judge Anti-Corruption Srinagar for offences under Section 5(1)(d) read with 5(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, Svt. 2006, and Section 120-B RPC at Police Station ACB Srinagar.
The accused have been identified as Choudary Mehraj-Din Bhuja and Showkat Hussain Hamdani, both then Ward Officers; Nisar Ahmad Rah and Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, then Building Inspectors; and Mudasir Hussain Banday, then Chief Executive Officer of SMC. The private beneficiary has been named as Mohammad Abdullah Dar of Rajbagh, Srinagar.
The case pertains to the illegal construction of a four-storey commercial shopping complex, “Abdullah Shopping Plaza,” at Kursoo Rajbagh. As per the statement, the construction was carried out in violation of norms under the guise of permission granted for a residential house, allegedly in connivance with SMC officials.
The ACB in a statement to Kashmir Dot Com said that the investigation, based on oral and documentary evidence, has substantiated allegations of abuse of official position, criminal conspiracy, and conferring undue benefit to a private individual. It added that the conspiracy between the accused public servants and the beneficiary was established during the probe.
Following the completion of investigation and after obtaining the requisite sanction for prosecution from the government, the charge sheet has been presented before the competent court for judicial determination.
The next date of hearing in the case has been fixed for May 11, 2026, the statement added.
