Srinagar, Jan 10: A scam worth crores of rupees has been unearthed in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) involving many of its employees for allegedly diverting financial benefits of their colleagues into fictitious accounts.
 The corporation has started investigations and placed some of the accused under suspension even as millions of rupees were found deposited in their bank accounts.
 Some of the millionaire clerks of SMC in the tainted list have been found having Rs 1.33 Crore, Rs 71 lakhs, Rs 43 and 17 lakhs in the accounts, which is grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income.

THE SCAM
 Greater Kashmir learnt from reliable sources that scores of SMC employees, including SafaiKaramcharies were duped by some officials, mostly in the Accounts wing of the civic body. 

THE EXAMPLE
 Citing an example, the sources said an uneducated SafaiKaramcharie had applied for withdrawal of GP Fund for marriage of his daughter.
 “Instead of paying him over Rs one lakh, which was due to him, the uneducated man was paid mere around Rs 10 thousand but was made to sign receipt for the entire amount,” the sources explained.
 “When victim would inquire why he was getting little amount as GP Fund, the mafia would tell him that the remaining would be paid at the time of retirement,” they added.
 But as there would be no such big amount in his name at the age of superannuation, the victims would start knocking the doors of SMC to know about the fate of their money.

THE ‘MAFIA’ LINK
 Sources said the accused employees had taken some of the lower rung staffers, mostly SafaikaramCharies into confidence to befool others.
 “These SafaikaramChaires would act as agents and would lure the poor employees in their web pleading that their cases would be quickly solved through them.”

THE WHISTLEBLOWER
 It was not any SMC official but the Manager of JK Bank  branch Balgarden, which deals with the SMC transactions, to have smelled a rat and awakened the civic body officials.
 The Branch Manager, Muzaffar Hussain Makhdhoomi while confirming the development said he got conscious when he found millions of rupees in the saving accounts of some of the SMC employees.
 “On this I started to peruse the matter only to find that there could be discrepancies worth around Rs 15 crore in the SMC transactions,” Makhdoomi, who was last year felicitated with a Gold Medal for meritorious services by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, told Greater Kashmir.
 Sources said the Manager personally knew SMC Commissioner Sheikh Mushtaq because the latter too was felicitated by the CM at the same event.
 And using this rapport, he informed Mushtaq that all wasn’t well with the SMC accounts. On this an inquiry was initiated.

THE INQUIRY COMMITTEE
 The inquiry committee headed by Joint Commissioner SMC Fayaz Ahmed Bala with Chief Accounts Officer, Azad Ahmed Wani as member are understood to have found the allegations true.
 Official records reveal that the civic body Vide order SMC/EST6/G/8571-90 has placed at-least five employees under suspension while two working on consolidated wages have been “dispensed with.”
 Sources in the Housing and Urban Development Department, which oversees the SMC affairs, said the matter was likely to be “hushed up due to political interference.”
 “This scam is likely to open a Pandora’s Box, so pressures are being made to get it hushed up,” the sources told Greater Kashmir on phone from Jammu.
 When contacted Fayaz Ahmed Bala said the matter was being probed and everything will be made public.
 “We are calling a press conference soon to apprize media about the issue. Nothing will be kept hidden,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 IST