J&K ACB detains police inspector for questioning in disproportionate assets case

The Jammu and Kashmir Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Saturday said it has booked a police inspector for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and taken him into custody for questioning.

Addressing a press conference here, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), ACB, Javid Hassan, said verification of allegations against Inspector (Ministerial) Peer Zada Mushkoor Ahmad Shah, posted as cashier at District Police Office (DPO), Bandipora, was conducted.

During the probe, it surfaced that Shah has acquired various movable and immovable assets in his name and his family members’ names, Hassan said.

These include land measuring 32 kanals and 6 marlas in Budgam district, out of which 17 kanals and 14 marlas are in Sholipora Wudder, and a double-storey palatial residential house with an attic constructed on a plot purchased by him in Ompora Colony, the SSP said.

The accused has a bank balance of over Rs 48 lakh and different types of vehicles, he added.

Hassan said the accused has incurred expenditure to the tune of Rs 40 lakh on the education of his children. He also spent money on foreign travel and insurance premiums. “Keeping in view his luxurious lifestyle, the suspect officer may possess some other properties as well,” the SSP said.

The ACB said that during the course of the secret verification, it was found that Shah accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between January 1, 2012, and June 30, 2025.

“Further, the scrutiny of bank accounts revealed multiple suspicious transactions and unexplained cash flows. It was also noticed that the suspect and his family members were operating multiple accounts in different banks. Several high-value immovable properties were found to have been acquired in the names of the suspect, his wife and children,” Hassan said.

The assessment of income vis-a-vis expenditure has revealed that the income of the suspect from the known sources is much less than the actual expenditure incurred/assets raised, he said.

In this way, the SSP said, the accused public servant has “illicitly enriched himself by indulging in corrupt practices” during the period of his office. The accused has committed offences punishable under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the officer said.

Hasan said a case has been registered in the matter and ACB teams carried out searches at two residential properties of the accused in Budgam.

He said Shah has been taken into police custody for questioning in connection with the case. Further investigation is underway to ascertain the full extent of the illegal wealth accumulated by the accused and his associates, the SSP said.