R
egistration of criminal cases against lawmakers in Jammu and Kashmir is not a new thing. Reports of such cases appear in local newspapers and no one pays any heed to them. The law enforcing agencies even contain themselves up to the registration of cases only. Chief Judicial Magistrate Jammu, S R Gandhi last week issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former minister of state and presently MLA Doda, Abdul Majid Wani. The warrant was issued by the court for securing his presence in a case registered by police station, Doda, on July 12, 1993 under Section 6 Forest Act.
According to the case, the Range Officer, Marmat Forest Range, approached Superintendent of Police, Doda, with a complaint that the Block Officer, Behota, had reported that about 300 labourers of SFC contractors (accused persons) entered in compartment 31, 35, 37/Marmat and started illegally cutting unmarked uprooted trees as well as fresh trees which caused extensive damage to the forest wealth. The Range Officer also requested to provide police force to field staff of Marmat Range to stop the action by SFC. Upon this complaint, Doda police registered FIR No 77/1993 under Section 6 of the Forest Act. After completion of investigation, police presented challan against 11 accused including MLA Doda Abdul Majid Wani, his father, Ghulam Ahmed Wani, and brother, Abdul Karim Wani, (NC activist) in the court of CJM Doda and the case was subsequently transferred by the state High Court to the court of CJM Jammu for trial.
As he failed to appear before the court, a non-bailable warrant for securing the presence of Wani was issued. This was not the first time that law took its course against the MLA. As minister, he allegedly misused his position in connivance with the corporation officials and got undue benefits for him and others. He is also accused of misappropriating government money and property.
The State Accountability Commission investigations established that high-ranking SFC officials fraudulently issued a no-objection certificate (NoC) to Wani, one of the Chenab Valley’s most prominent capitalists in 2002. “During the course of inquiry, it was established that Roop Lal Bharti, who was MD, SFC, FA and CAO Janak Singh and deputy financial advisor Sant Ram, with the connivance of SFC contractor Abdul Majid Wani, accorded approval/concurrence for a false document of NoC in his (Wani’s) favour,” the report submitted by the DIG Gulzar Singh Slathia to SAC stated. Wani needed NoC for his eligibility to file nomination papers as a candidate from Doda assembly segment in 2002.
Shah Abbas
