93-year-old ex-MD of J-K Cooperative Development Ltd convicted for forgery

A court in Jammu and Kashmir has convicted a 93-year-old former managing director of J-K Cooperative Central Land Development Limited for forging his date of birth to extend service.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch Kashmir has secured the conviction of the former MD Mohammad Shafi Banday for “fraudulently manipulating” his date of birth to unlawfully extend his service tenure.

The case originated from a complaint alleging that the accused had deliberately recorded his date of birth as September 1, 1939, instead of 1934 by producing a fake certificate, a spokesman for the EOW said.

He said a probe was initiated by the Crime Branch Kashmir, during which, the verification confirmed the manipulation, and established that his actual date of birth was June 26, 1932.

Subsequently, a formal case was registered at Crime Branch Kashmir (now Economic Offences Wing), he added.

During the course of the investigation, the spokesman said the allegations were substantiated, revealing that the accused had overstayed in service for more than seven years, thereby causing wrongful gain to himself and corresponding loss to the state exchequer.

Accordingly, a chargesheet was filed before the court for judicial determination, the said.

After a full trial, the court of City Judge, Srinagar, found the accused guilty, sentencing him to two years of simple imprisonment on each count and a fine of Rs 5,000 per offence. All sentences shall run concurrently, the spokesman said.