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IAS officer arrested in Jammu-Kashmir arms licences case
The case was handed over to the CBI on the basis of a recommendation from Rajasthan Director General of Police OP Galhotra after Rajasthan’s anti-terror squad (ATS) busted a related racket.
AS officer Rajiv Ranjan was arrested by the CBI along with a retired senior bureaucrat, Itrit Hussain Rafiqi, in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir arms licences case, officials said on Sunday evening.
CBI is probing allegations that senior Jammu and Kashmir bureaucrats received bribes for illegally issuing arms licences in bulk to non-residents in violation of rules between 2012 and 2016.
“During further investigation conducted by CBI, the alleged role of Sh. Itrit Hussain Rafiqi and Sh. Rajiv Ranjan, IAS, both posted then Distt. Magistrates Kupwara, J&K has surfaced during their tenure as Distt. Magistrates, Kupwara, J&K from the year 2013 to 2015 and from 2015 to 2016 respectively,” said a CBI release.
In December, 2019, CBI registered two cases in alleged irregularities in the issuance of around two lakh arms licences from different districts of Jammu and Kashmir. The anti-corruption agency followed it up with raids on the premises of several top officials including Hussain Rafiqui, a retired IAS officer from Bandipora.
Premises of then deputy commissioners and district magistrates of Kupwara, Baramulla, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Shopian, Rajouri, Doda and Pulwama were also raided.
The agency confirmed arrests of Itrit Hussain Rafiqui and Rajiv Ranjan on Sunday.
“Investigations is continuing,” the official release added.
The case was handed over to the CBI on the basis of a recommendation from Rajasthan Director General of Police OP Galhotra after Rajasthan’s anti-terror squad (ATS) busted a related racket.
