Srinagar, Apr 2 : The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a charge-sheet against five officials of the Srinagar Municipal Committee (SMC) and a private beneficiary in connection with the alleged illegal construction of a four-storey commercial complex in the Rajbagh area here.
The charge-sheet was produced before the Court of Additional Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Srinagar, in case FIR No. 11/2020, the ACB said in a statement issued on Thursday.
The accused SMC officials have been identified as Choudary Mehraj-Din Bhuja, the then ward officer; Showkat Hussain Hamdani, the then ward officer; Nisar Ahmad Rah, the then building inspector; Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, the then building inspector; and Mudasir Hussain Banday, the then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SMC.
The private beneficiary, Mohammad Abdullah Dar, a resident of Rajbagh, has also been named in the charge-sheet, the ACB said.
The case pertains to the alleged illegal construction of ‘Abdullah Shopping Plaza’, a four-storey commercial complex at Kursoo Rajbagh, which was raised by Dar in alleged connivance with SMC officials. The probe revealed that the building permission was fraudulently issued for a residential house, but a commercial structure was constructed instead.
The anti-corruption agency stated that the investigation had substantiated charges of criminal conspiracy and abuse of official position against the accused. “The conspiracy between the accused government functionaries and the beneficiary was proved beyond doubt,” the ACB said.
Sanction for prosecution of the public servants was obtained from the government before filing the charge-sheet under the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant sections of the Ranbir Penal Code. The court has fixed the next date of hearing for May 11, 2026. (KNS)
