ACB Registers Case Against J&K Fire Department Over Recruitment Irregularities

Jammu: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has initiated an investigation into alleged irregularities in the recruitment process of the Fire and Emergency Services (F&ES) department in Jammu and Kashmir. The case was registered following a report from the General Administration Department (GAD) based on the findings of an inquiry committee.

The probe centres around allegations of paper leaks and discrepancies during the recruitment of firemen and fireman drivers in 2020. The investigation also revealed claims of favouritism in awarding contracts for conducting the exams and tampering with the selection list, an ACB spokesperson said.

In July this year, the ACB received a report from a government-formed inquiry committee that had looked into the recruitment irregularities. The committee’s findings led to the decision by the competent authority to conduct a formal investigation.

The issues with the recruitment process date back to 2013, when discrepancies were discovered, leading to the cancellation of that year's recruitment. Efforts to restart the process in 2018 and again in 2020 faced similar allegations, including the selection of ineligible agencies to conduct exams and manipulation of the final selection results.

The alleged irregularities included the selection of candidates with scores below the cutoff mark, discrepancies in answer sheets and evidence of favouritism, with relatives and individuals from specific localities benefiting.

The investigation revealed that favouritism was shown in awarding the contract to L-2 bidder LMES IT which lacked proven experience in conducting similar exercises as mandated by the e-NIT, while sidelining the L-1 bidder, the ACB said.

The bid of L-2 was accepted by the Departmental Recruitment Board (DRB) despite L-2 being a newly formed firm (November 2017) and its main partner Maharaj Krishan. previously being a resource person with Timing Technology (P) Limited, whose recruitment process was cancelled.  According to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, negotiations should only be held with the L-1 bidder, and re-tendering should occur if the L-1 bidder backs out. However, these guidelines were not followed in this case, the ACB said.

By acting in this manner, the then members of the departmental recruitment board, members of the technical committee, and officers and officials of the F&ES department colluded with the recruiting company through its main partner, Maharaj Krishan (L-2 bidder), it said.

The ACB said they abused their official positions to favour the L-2 bidder over the L-1 bidder in an illegal and unjustified manner. They manipulated the selection list by preparing fake and fabricated records to confer undue benefits upon themselves and other beneficiaries, the spokesperson explained.

The ACB has registered an FIR under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against the members of the departmental recruitment board, technical committee, F&ES officials, and others involved.

Further investigations are ongoing, the spokesperson added.