CBI Charges J&K IAS Officer's Family in Asset Case

Synopsis

The CBI has charged two relatives of a Jammu and Kashmir IAS officer for accumulating disproportionate assets. The officer, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, is already under investigation for an arms license racket. This case highlights ongoing issues of corruption within the IAS ranks in the region.

Key Takeaways

CBI has filed charges against IAS officer's family.
Kumar Rajeev Ranjan is already under investigation.
Searches were conducted at multiple locations.
Involvement in an arms licence scam is noted.
The government approved prosecution in November 2024.

Jammu, Feb 20 (NationPress) On Thursday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) announced that it has filed charges against two family members of a Jammu and Kashmir IAS officer. This follows a previous FIR filed against the officer himself for having accumulated disproportionate assets.

CBI insiders revealed that the agency has now implicated two relatives of the 2010 batch IAS officer, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan, for amassing wealth exceeding their legal earnings.

Rajeev Ranjan, who has already been named in a CBI investigation, is currently serving as secretary of both the revenue and labor and employment departments in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Wednesday, investigators from the agency conducted searches at seven locations, including Rajeev Ranjan’s office in Jammu and affiliated properties in Varanasi, Srinagar, and Gurugram.

He is already facing allegations linked to an arms licence scandal dating back to his time as deputy commissioner in the Kupwara district of Kashmir Valley.

This arms licence controversy has been under investigation by the CBI since 2019, revealing significant mismanagement in arms licence distribution, where licenses were improperly issued for monetary gain to individuals not residing in Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajeev Ranjan is not the sole IAS officer implicated in this arms licence issue, as the CBI has filed an FIR against eight IAS officers, including him.

In November 2024, the Government of India granted permission for the prosecution of Rajeev Ranjan and the other involved parties.

Besides the arms licence scandal, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has also recently charged the former Managing Director of the Cooperative Housing Corporation and others with the illegal allotment of state land in Jammu.

Allegations state that the housing board in Bajalta, Jammu, purchased 392 Kanals of land at various sites and later, in collusion with board officials and Revenue Department staff, illegally occupied approximately 584 Kanals of land, including state property.