The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch in Kashmir carried out searches at three locations in the twin districts of central Kashmir’s Srinagar and Budgam in connection with the alleged siphoning of government funds during the COVID-19 pandemic by two individuals, officials said on Thursday.
The case was initiated on the basis of a written complaint submitted by Sanjay Kumar Sahu, proprietor of Sanjay Trading Company, New Delhi, who alleged that Emad Muzafar Makdoomi, alias Imran Shah, and Vikar Ahmad Bhat dishonestly induced the firm on the pretext of procuring medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Kashmir, of Crime Branch J&K today conducted house searches at three different locations in the districts of Srinagar and Budgam in connection with an FIR,” an official spokesperson said.
He said “Preliminary investigation suggested that the accused persons, through deceitful means, fraudulently obtained huge sums of money, including government funds from the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag.”
He also noted that the duo had attempted to syphon funds worth crores of rupees from the Government Medical College, Srinagar.
The accused persons impersonated government officials, posing as delegates and OSD (Supplies), and issued fake allotment orders of various departments and institutions with the help of fake email ids of the firm and also opened fraudulent accounts in its name to syphon funds.
On the basis of these findings, a formal case has been registered and the investigation has been set into motion. "The house searches conducted today are aimed at securing further evidence, including digital records and financial documents," he said, noting that further investigation is underway.
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