STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted search operations at 11-different locations across Union Territory of J&K in the Arms license case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 which include residential premises of Rajeev Ranjan, IAS (former DC Kupwara), Itrat Hussain, KAS (former DC Kupwara), Ravinder Kumar Bhatt, KAS (former ADC Kupwara), Tariq Ather and Gajan Singh, both former Judicial Clerks, who had worked at Arms Section at DC Office Kupwara.
Further residential premises of 6- arms dealers of J&K viz-a-viz Amarnath Bhargava (owner of Varun Armoury), his brother Mukesh Bhargava (Bhargava Gun House), Balwant Singh (Dashmesh Armoury), Mohinder Kotwal (Mohinder Kotwal Arms and Ammunition), Manohar Singh (Swaran Arms and ammunition) and Devi Dayal Khajuria (Khajuria Arms) were also searched by the officers of ED and many incriminating documents revealing transactions between arms dealers/brokers with Govt. officials were obtained. It is revealed that many Senior Bureaucrats of J&K are involved in criminal practices of issuance of Arms license in lieu of monetary considerations. The officers and officials of the Districts in connivance with private person(s) and others had fraudulently and illegally issued the gun licenses.
Sources of information revealed that a well-knit nexus was being run by the arms dealers/independent brokers/agents and Judicial clerks and Deputy Commissioner and Additional Deputy Commissioner of various districts and they has issued arms licenses illegally by flouting the norms, procedure and rules governing the subject in lieu of monetary considerations by abuse of their official position as public servants and every one, beginning from Agents to arms dealers, had their share in this monetary consideration beginning from the broker/arms dealers to judicial clerks to DC/ADC of various districts. ED has registered the case in Arms license matter in 2020 and since then several IAS, KAS officers and other Govt officials have been summoned and investigated.
Pertinent to mention here that Rajasthan Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) and Madhya Pradesh Police had initially unearthed the scam in 2017 and had arrested over 50 people, including an IAS officer, for their alleged involvement in the illegal issuance of arms licenses. According to Rajasthan ATS, over 3,000 permits were granted allegedly in the name of Army personnel.
The CBI had recently raided in Jammu and Srinagar houses of many serving and retired bureaucrats in connection with the scam.