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Senior J-K
official held with US passport
WSN
Network
Srinagar: The terror
affected northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir is in the
throes of a new scandal as the police is investigating corruption
and queer citizenship charges against a senior forest official from
the state who concealed his American citizenship. The US embassy in
New Delhi has been informed about his arrest.
Mr Ejaz Ahmed Bhat,
who is related to a senior member of Ghulam Nabi Azad's Cabinet,
state finance minister Tariq Hamid Qurra, was arrested by crime
branch sleuths last week following investigations into his alleged
misconduct as head of the State Forest Corporation. His Indian
passport had expired several years ago and that he had been
shuttling frequently between India and the United States on an
American passport. The crime branch has informed the US embassy in
New Delhi about his arrest and sought details about his visits to
that country from the immigration authorities in New Delhi. Mr Bhat
travelled as a US citizen over a dozen times, spent long periods in
Srinagar, his hometown, but mentioned only a fake address in New
Delhi as his destination in India on the immigration form. Mr Bhat
had been removed as managing director of the J&K State Forest
Corporation earlier this month for alleged involvement in financial
and other irregularities.
Investigations have also revealed that earlier this year he had
applied for a fresh Indian passport at the regional passport office
here, and declared himself to be an Indian national of Kashmiri
domicile. His earlier Indian passport had expired on July 13, 2002.
It was when his new passport was ready to be delivered to him that
the authorities learnt of his dual identity and that he had been
travelling to and from India as an American citizen.
3
October, 2007
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