ED grills Omar Abdullah in J&K Bank case

Srinagar, April 7

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah was on Thursday questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over his links with former J&K Bank director, who is allegedly involved in a money laundering case. Summoned to the New Delhi headquarters, Omar was asked about his links with Nihal Chandrakant Garware, who is accused of buying a property for the bank in Mumbai at an inflated price to benefit the vendor. The ED took cognisance of the FIR filed by the CBI against former J&K Bank chairman Mushtaq Ahmad Shaikh over alleged irregularities in sanctioning loans and investment. Last year, the CBI had filed a case against the then bank management for buying a property from Akruti Gold Builders in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla in 2010 at an exorbitant rate of 180 crore in “blatant disregard of the tendering process under a conspiracy.”

According to the ED, Garware, arrested recently, played a crucial role in the deal, “siphoning” crores. The National Conference accused the BJP of employing the “government machinery to subdue NC leadership’s effort in forging unity among different mainstream political parties in J&K”.