J&K govt officer gets 3 years in jail in disproportionate assets case

Jammu, Dec 19 (PTI) A court here on Tuesday sentenced a government officer to three years in jail in a disproportionate assets case.

The officer was also asked to pay a fine of Rs 50 lakh by the special anti-corruption court, a spokesman of the Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police said.

Nisar Khan, a section officer posted at the Jammu deputy commissioner’s office, acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income by indulging in corrupt practices and by abusing his official position as a public servant, the officer said.

Khan possessed disproportionate assets to the tune of more than Rs 84 lakh, the officer added.

Special Judge of the Anti-Corruption Court, Jammu, Tahir Khurshid Raina sentenced Khan to three years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on him under the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, 2006.

“The fine amount, if not paid by the convict within a period of two months, shall be recovered by the district collector from the disproportionate assets of the convict as arrears of land revenue,” the Judge said in the order.

The Judge also directed the Senior Superintendent of Police of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Jammu to follow the execution of the sentence awarded.

While sentencing Khan, the court referred to the mandate of the Supreme Court that Judges who bear the sword of justice should not hesitate to use that sword with the utmost severity to the full and to the end, if the gravity of the offence so demands.

The case was registered in 2007 based on verification conducted into the allegation that Khan amassed huge assets in the form of movable and immovable properties.