[stextbox id=”info”]Muzaffar Hussain Baig’s allegation against chief minister not only brought back the 2006 sexual exploitation scam into focus but raised queries about the so called CBI list as well. ZUBAIR A DAR revisits the scam to crack the mystery of the list.[/stextbox]
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court order that Peoples Democratic Party legislator and former deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig referred to in the state assembly on July 28 had segregated the accused in the 2006 sexual exploitation case into four different categories while laying out that the case needs to be probed further in wake of lax investigations by the CBI.
Surprisingly, one among the categories where the High Court order abstained from mentioning the names, included high ranking police officers and political functionaries – some of them former and sitting ministers of the cabinet. “This category of persons”, the court said, “had been alleged by Sabeena (the kingpin) to have had illicit sex with girls procured by or known to her, but the concerned girls though much after the allegations leveled by Sabina have denied the alleged occurrences.”
In his order, Justice Bashir A Kirmani observed, “With no other circumstance to support Sabina’s statement being on record which renders further investigation in their cases imperative so naming them at this stage may not be desirable.
“However, since cases of this category of persons are required to be investigated further … I am totally taken aghast to find names of some highly placed people in this list particularly from police department and political field; High ranking police officers and political functionaries including some former and sitting ministers of the cabinet. I wish they figure wrongly in this shame list but even a mere incriminating mention of their names in a case of this type, not to say of any involvement like others, already mentioned, is simply stunning,” Justice Kirmani observed while adding that if those holding positions and potential to control and determine the destiny of millions, this way fall into the abyss of a misconduct of this magnitude, then all the concepts of democracy, constitutional governance and public administration get torn to shreds and the whole socio-political and administrative fabric comes at peril.
“Thankfully, the number of such people from public life and administration/police is only a small fraction of the total due to which one can genuinely nurse the pious hope that perhaps all men and manners those matter are not lost beyond redemption,” he further added.
Among other categories, First group, obviously, was of those seventeen persons against whom a prima facie case was made out and a charge-sheet was filed. Second was the list of persons against whom credible incriminating material was found and whose identity was not in dispute but regarding whom despite availability of materials no action had been taken by the CBI. These include Ashkoor Wani (SSP), Javed Shah (a deceased MLC), Niaz Mehmood (DIG), and Sheikh Mehmood (SP), Dr. Pritpal Singh Goga and Amit Amla.
About Ashkoor Wani, the court said that he had been “nominated by two girls and the main accused Sabina” and “has been let off because of certain reported contradictions and later withdrawal of statement by concerned girl”. About Niaz Mehmood and Sheikh Mehmood, the court said that CBI left them out because of “reported contradictions in statement of concerned girl(s) and other discrepancies”. The court said that Dr. Pritpal Singh Goga was released because of “reported withdrawal of statement by the girl” while Amit Amla, the court said, was not roped in “reportedly because the concerned girl failed to point out the house of his friend where he was alleged to have had sex with her”.
“Another set of persons against whom no action has been taken comprises of those who have been nominated by the main accused Sabeena of having sex with the girls who were sought by or sent to them against whom no action has been taken despite apparently available materials,” the order said. These include Raj Tickoo (Vigilance Commissioner), Sh Mansoor Ahmed (SP), Mohd Yousuf Khan (Ex-Chairman J&K Bank), Raja Mohi-ud-din (Journalist), Gh Hassan Khan (MLA), Hakim Mohd Yasen (a Cabinet minister), Yogesh Saini (MLA) and an unknown commissioner of the Govt. described by the victim girl as “Gora Chitta Commissioner”. It is regarding these persons only, that the I.O’s opinion regarding deficiency of evidence for letting them off has to be securitized.
