Poonch, July 28, 2025:
The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a formal case against Mohammad Jameel, a Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) official formerly posted in the Office of Collector Agrarian Reforms (ACR), Poonch, and others, on charges of large-scale financial fraud and corruption.
The case, filed under FIR No. 03/2025, has been registered under Sections 7 and 13(1)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), and Sections 120-B, 467, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.
The investigation was initiated following a complaint lodged by Mr. Tahir Mustafa Malik (JKAS), Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Poonch, alleging that Mohammad Jameel had embezzled ₹55,99,947 from official CD accounts maintained at the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Poonch.
A verification conducted by the ACB revealed that a departmental enquiry into the matter, led by Mr. Sandesh Kumar Sharma (JKAS), Additional District Development Commissioner, Poonch, was constituted via official communication No. DCP/Estt/1832-35 dated November 3, 2023. The enquiry confirmed the fraudulent withdrawal of funds during Jameel’s tenure from January 7, 2019, to October 21, 2023.
According to the ACB, the accused official, in alleged connivance with certain officials of the J&K Bank’s Poonch City Branch, withdrew money from three official CD accounts (Account Nos. 0585010100000602, 0585010100000838, and 0585010100000847). The funds were siphoned off using forged signatures of Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) — including the DC, ADC, ACR, and Accounts Officer — or through self-signatures on fake invoices.
Further scrutiny revealed that Jameel transferred the embezzled money not only into his own bank account but also into the accounts of his close family members and certain unidentified individuals. The complicity of bank officials in processing these fake invoices — despite signature discrepancies from the specimen signatures on record — has also come to light.
Following the registration of the case, the ACB, in coordination with local police and under the supervision of magistrates and independent witnesses, carried out simultaneous searches at the accused’s premises in District Poonch.
The ACB has stated that a detailed and in-depth examination of the seized records will be undertaken as part of the ongoing investigation.
