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Ishfaq Tantry
Tribune News service
Srinagar, July 16
The CBI on Monday charged former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah and three others with “embezzlement” and “misappropriation” of BCCI funds to the tune of over 43 crore. The funds were meant for the J&K Cricket Association (JKCA).
The scam pertains to payment of Rs 113.67 crore by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the state cricket body from 2002 to 2011. A part of money meant for Farooq Abdullah-headed JKCA was allegedly misappropirated. Farooq was ousted as the JKCA president in February 2015 and replaced by then Sports Minister Imran Ansari. The CBI on Monday filed an 8,000-page chargesheet before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, against the four accused—Farooq Abdullah, Ehsan Mirza (then JKCA general secretary), Saleem Khan (treasurer) and Bashir Misger (then J&K Bank Khanyar branch manager). They have been charged under Sections 406, 409 and 120B of the RPC.
“It has been established that the accused were involved in embezzlement and misappropriation of Rs. 43.69 crore out of the BCCI funds meant for the JKCA,” said a member of the CBI team.
Farooq has been arrayed as accused number 4 in the chargesheet.
The chargesheet has been accepted by CJM Ajaz Ahmad Khan, who is likely to pass further orders in the matter on Tuesday.
Before the investigation was handed over to the CBI by the High Court on September 3, 2015, the case was probed by a special investigation team (SIT) of the J&K Police.