The anti-corruption bureau (ACB) of Jammu and Kashmir has written to former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti seeking to know her role in the appointment of certain people made by the former chairman of J&K Bank on the recommendation of a "few ministers".
A copy of the letter, signed by the Senior Superintendent of Police, says, "It may please be clarified whether such references had your endorsement verbal or otherwise for appointments in J&K Bank."
In June 2019, the anti-corruption sleuths raided the Jammu and Kashmir Bank headquarters soon after Parvez Ahmad was removed as the bank's chairman, PTI reported.
The bureau was looking for records of nearly 1200 appointments made allegedly at the behest of political leaders of the previous PDP-BJP dispensation in the state during Ahmad's tenure as chairman, the officials said.
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They said the bureau has registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act based on a complaint on illegal and fraudulent appointments made in the bank.
Reacting to the letter on Twitter, Mehbooba said she was not at all surprised to have received it from the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
"Concerted efforts are being made to browbeat mainstream leaders & thwart potential efforts for a collective response.
"I am too small an entity vis a vis the cause that unites us today. Such tactics won’t work," she tweeted.
The ACB letter to the PDP chief comes at a time when uncertainty looms large over Jammu and Kashmir after the government issued a series of advisories to tourists and Amarnath pilgrims asking them to curtail their stay in the Valley.
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All the local parties have come together and requested the Centre not to toy with Articles 370 and 35A, following a barrage of rumours concerning the government's next step in the Valley.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba in the Parliament amid a massive troop build-up and security threat in Jammu and Kashmir.
