CHANDIGARH: The 2010 batch Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS officer Rajiv Ranjan who was on Sunday arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Jammu and Kashmir arms licences case has allegedly issued around 30,000 fake arms licences in a span of two year.
These licences were just not issued to residents of Kashmir but also issued to people living in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and other states by showing them as Kashmiris.
According to sources, the accused were taken to Srinagar for further investigations. It had taken permission from the J&K authorities before arresting this serving officer.
Sources in the apex agency claimed that Ranjan and retired bureaucrat Itrit Hussain Rafiqi were on Sunday called for joining the investigations by the CBI at it’s office where they were then arrested after questioning.
Then the CBI sleuths produced them before the duty magistrate in the local courts where they were sent to one-day police custody.
Advocate of CBI Narinder Singh reportedly told the court that Ranjan remained Deputy Commissioner of Kupwara in J&K for about two years and allegedly issued 30,000 arms licences.
Also on each license for one weapon were issued for three weapons.
“Now the apex agency is in the process to find out that to which all people these licences were issued. It is suspected and alleged that most of these licences were issued to gangsters and militants so that they can move easily,’’ claimed an officer.
Sources claim that besides Ranjan other officers of the state are also involved in the licences scam for which agency is conducting searches.