ACB books Revenue Officer in Jammu in disproportionate assets case

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday booked a revenue officer for allegedly holding assets disproportionate to his income, officials said.

The ACB is probing the officer’s acquisition of disproportionate assets, which include a double-storey palatial house, significant bank account balance, large expenditures incurred during functions, and other movable assets in the Jammu district, they said.

The accused Ashok Kumar was earlier arrested in a bribery case and later granted bail.

The FIR was registered based on a verification conducted into the allegations that Kumar, then Naib Tehsildar of Gharota, Jammu, had allegedly acquired substantial assets exceeding to his known sources of income, they added.

The verification revealed that the accused public servant allegedly accumulated various movable and immovable properties in his name and in the names of his family members.

These include a palatial duplex house in Akhnoor worth crores, a luxury car, two-wheelers, and other assets, along with significant bank account balances and expenditures made through these accounts.

The ACB found that the suspect spent a large sum of money on his daughter’s marriage, and his family maintained a luxurious lifestyle.

According to the investigation, the expenditure incurred and the value of assets acquired by the suspect have been found to be disproportionate to the income earned by him from all known sources, they said.

Kumar was arrested by the ACB in 2022, along with his associate Raman Gupta, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 lakh for issuing a forged document. Subsequently, a case was registered against him, they said. (PTI)