SRINAGAR: Different teams of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Saturday carried out searches at several locations in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with its probe into an alleged illegal arms license case.
CBI sources disclosed that raids were conducted at multiple locations across Jammu and Kashmir. The searches were conducted at official and personal houses of various top officials including former Deputy Commissioners of erstwhile state.
Sources added that searches were conducted at dozens of places, including Srinagar, Udhampur, Jammu at the locations of private gun houses.
The CBI had registered a case on the consent of the then Jammu and Kashmir government and had taken over probe from the police after it surfaced that during the period 2012 to 2016, the district magistrates of various districts of J&K had fraudulently and illegally issued bulk arms licenses in lieu of a monetary consideration.
These licenses were just not issued to residents of Kashmir but also to people living in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states by showing them as Kashmiris.
It is worth to mention here that last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested two IAS officers, both formerly posted as District Magistrates Kupwara, in this connection. The two arrested were Rajiv Ranjan and Itrit Hussain Rafiqi, both served as District Magistrate, Kupwara from 2013-2015 and from 2015-2016. (KNT)
