Salary scam in Health Deptt BMO’s office draws Rs 1.5 cr excess amount

By .Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Jan 22: Finance Department has detected embezzlement in Block Medical Office Beerwah in the Central Kashmir district of Budgam where Rs 1.5 crore has been drawn in past two years as double salary of employees and against non-existing employees.

The Audit and Inspection Department report lying with the Health Department says that kingpin of the racket is Mushtaq Ahmad Parray, Junior Assistant, in the Department who has managed all the embezzlements. "He has fraudulently drawn a salary of over Rs 95 lakh in two years", the report adds. 

The report says that fraudulent withdrawals made out of official Account of Block Medical Officer, Beerwah, (Account No. 10801) during 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 were credited to nine beneficiaries. 

The kingpin Mushtaq Ahmad Parray's two accounts (Account No. 4708, 19734) have got credits of over Rs 95.5 lakhs in two years. The Pharmacist, Zahoor Ahmad Banday, received around Rs 34 lakhs in two years in his two accounts (19950 and 7882).

The Block Medical Officer (BMO) Fayaz Ahmad Banday has received Rs 76,000 in the year 2010-11. Rs 6.1 lakh were credited to Nursing Orderly, Abdul Salam Sheikh's account (11499) in 2010-11.

The report says that Rs 2 lakh were credited to a Shopkeeper Reyaz Ahmad Gania's account (7485), Rs 48,000 were credited to Mubashir Majid Banday's account (49154 JK Bank Residency Road, Srinagar) and around Rs 11 lakh were credited to NRHM account (CD 465).

The Audit report has noticed that no credits have been made to the individual accounts of the employees in whose favour the bills were drawn. The credits have instead been made or transferred to the Health Department officials or some private person's accounts who were part of the nexus.

The report has found fake deduction of the GP Fund of officers and officials of the Health Department credited to the GP Fund Account of the kingpin Parray. The report has found credits made to his GP Fund account more than his gross salary. 

The report has found that Rs 0.75 lakh released by the Chief Medical Officer Budgam for electric charges for year 2010-11 (vide Order No. 315 of 2010 dated 27-03-2011) has been manipulated and Six lakhs were inserted under Salary component to it. The report says that in the foot note it was written that the allotment is meant for the drawal of salary of Dr Masrat Aijaz who did not exist on the rolls of the BMO Beerwah at that time.

The report has said that officers who were in the helm of the affairs when the embezzlement took place can't be exonerated and has held them involved directly or indirectly in the crime. The report has suggested immediate disciplinary action against the officials and recovery of the embezzled amount.

The report has also found that no administrative inspection of the BMO Beerwah was conducted for past few decades. "It is mandatory for the Controlling Officers to conduct Administrate Inspection in April every year to promote financial discipline. 

While holding Drawing and Disbursing Officers equally responsible for the scam, the reports says that he has not verified the manipulated advices before they were sent to the Bank for the withdrawal of the money.