More than a month after former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah was controversially ousted from the president’s post of scam-ridden Jammu and Kashmir Cricket association (JKCA), the High Court on Thursday ordered Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the alleged bungling in the cricketing body.
The court direction for time-bound probe came in the wake of “sluggish pace” of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of J&K Police that was investigating the matter for several months.
A division Bench of Chief Justice NN Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Bl Bhat directed the CBI to complete the probe within six months. The Bench was hearing a PIl by two cricketers who demanded speedy investigation in the multi-crore scam. Police have already filed FIR against office-bearers of the JKCA but no tangible action has been initiated to bring the swindlers of money to book.
The High Court said that the CBI probe was necessitated due to lack of credibility of the SIT investigations and seriousness of the case involving “high and mighty”.
The Bench summoned and quizzed several respondents of the case during previous hearings. The former Chief Minister Abdullah in an over 30-page response pleaded that his name was being dragged to “tarnish his political image”. The scam involves misuse of funds meant for developing cricketing infrastructure and illegal transfer of money through bogus bank accounts.
On July 20, a group of JKCA members revolted against Abdullah and voted senior ruling PDP leader and Sports Minister Imran Reza Ansari to replace him as JKCA President. However, a local court in Jammu stayed the election. The JKCA is practically paralysed due to in-fights and court wrangling.