ED grills Farooq Abdullah over 'involvement' in multi-crore J&K Cricket Association scam; CBI had filed FIR for embezzlement of funds

In the latest development to the 2002 multi-crore Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) scam which can have far-reaching political implications, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) patron Farooq Abdullah was being questioned on Wednesday by the Enforcement Directorate in Chandigarh over his alleged involvement in the case.

Former CM of J&K and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah's questioning underway by Enforcement Directorate in Chandigarh in connection with Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) irregularity scam case. pic.twitter.com/U6Zxgn6MRf

— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2019

Earlier on 16 July, 2018, the CBI had filed a chargesheet against Farooq and four others accused of alleged irregularities and misappropriation of over Rs 113 crore from grants given to the JKCA by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for promoting cricket in the state between 2001 to 2011, The Times of India reported. Farooq was the president of JKCA when the alleged irregularities were noticed in the state cricket body. The three other accused named in the FIR included — JKCA general secretary Saleem Khan, treasurer Mohammad Ahsan Mirza and a Jammu and Kashmir Bank executive Bashir Ahmed Mansir — for criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust. [caption id=“attachment_6227231” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of NC chief Farooq Abdullah. PTI[/caption] It has been alleged that around Rs 113 crore of the association funds were siphoned off by the JKCA office bearers from the grants given to the state cricket body. In 2012, CNN-News18 had accessed a letter written by the branch head of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank which involved Farooq in the alleged embezzlement of funds. In the letter, Farooq allegedly recommended that a loan be advanced to his close aide and former state cricket association general secretary Mirza. The news channel also got access to documents that revealed bogus accounts were opened to siphon off funds from the BCCI. National Conference leaders deny charges against Farooq However, in a statement, Farooq’s party, the JKNC, had earlier said that it had full faith in the judicial system and re-asserted its commitment to cooperate with the court’s proceedings. “It was Farooq who sought the registration of an FIR relating to this matter in the first place. Farooq has led his life guided by the strictest principles of selfless public service and probity. He is certain that truth shall prevail,” the party had said. Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah had placed confidence in the legal proceedings and was sanguine that his father would be proved innocent. “I will not be addressing this issue separately except to say I have no doubt at the end of the legal process my father will be found innocent and free of any allegations of wrong doing,” Omar had said. CBI took over the case from Jammu and Kashmir Police in 2015 The CBI had taken over the case from the state police in 2015 on orders of a division bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The judges had pronounced the order on 3 September, 2015, following a PIL filed by two cricketers – Majid Yaqoob Dar and Nissar Ahmad Khan – into the alleged scam. Farooq in his response to the high court had refuted the allegations claiming that his name was being dragged to tarnish his political image. The alleged scam was earlier investigated by a special team of the state police, which had failed to conclude its probe after nearly three years, prompting it to hand over the case to the CBI in 2015. With inputs from PTI