SRINAGAR: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Jammu has registered a formal case, FIR No. 01/2026, under Section 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the JK Prevention of Corruption Act, Sv 2006, and Section 120-B of the RPC at Police Station ACB Jammu, against RK Razdan, then Managing Director of SICOP Jammu (now retired), Kunal Choudhary, presently Deputy General Manager, SICOP Jammu, and others.
The case pertains to allegations of illegal appointment, regularization, and subsequent promotion of Kunal Choudhary, who is currently working as Deputy General Manager in SICOP.
ACB in a statement said that during the course of verification, it surfaced that RK Razdan, while functioning as Managing Director of SICOP, abused his official position and, in criminal conspiracy with others, engaged Kunal Choudhary as Technical Assistant on a temporary basis for a period of six months without issuing any advertisement in newspapers or inviting applications from eligible candidates. The engagement was made solely on the discretion of RK Razdan and in a pick-and-choose manner.
Further verification revealed that after merely six months of temporary service, Kunal Choudhary was regularized despite not meeting the prescribed eligibility criteria and without any government-sanctioned policy for regularization. As such, the regularization was found to be arbitrary and illegal.
Subsequently, Kunal Choudhary was promoted to the post of Manager without issuing any advertisement and without considering the seniority of other eligible candidates.
The verification further established that RK Razdan, by sheer abuse of his official position and under a well-knit criminal conspiracy with others, including the beneficiary, illegally appointed Kunal Choudhary as Technical Assistant, who thereafter rose to the post of Deputy General Manager, SICOP Jammu, through manipulation and in contravention of established service rules. This allegedly resulted in undue benefits being conferred upon the beneficiary in the form of financial gains, including salary, allowances, and seniority.
Further investigation in the matter is underway. (KDC)
