J&K admn terminates 103 firemen over ‘fraud’ in selection process

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday terminated the services of 103 firemen in the Fire & Emergency Services Department following an inquiry by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) that found fraudulent manipulation in their appointments.

An order issued by the J&K Home Department stated that the appointments of these 103 individuals were not made on merit and were secured through fraudulent manipulation.

“Their continuation amounts to a perpetuation of illegality, undermining public trust and the sanctity of recruitment processes. It is hereby ordered that the appointments of the 103 candidates as Fireman in the F&ES Department are declared illegal and are hereby terminated with immediate effect. These individuals shall accordingly cease to be borne on the establishment of the Fire & Emergency Services Department w.e.f. the date of issuance of this order,” the order stated.

The J&K administration had in 2022 constituted an inquiry committee to examine allegations of irregularities in the recruitment process of Fireman/Fireman Drivers conducted in 2020 by the Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) Department.

The inquiry committee, after detailed examination, recommended a criminal investigation by the ACB, J&K, into allegations of paper leakage, manipulation of results and other issues.

The ACB registered an FIR and submitted a preliminary verification report on January 9 this year followed by letters on November 21 and November 28 establishing large-scale tampering in OMR sheets, fabricated scanned images of answer sheets, and illegal manipulation of merit lists, conclusively confirming manipulation of results in favour of 106 candidates who were awarded marks far in excess of what they actually secured, tampered digital evidence, criminal conspiracy and beneficiaries’ admissions.

It was established that the appointments of these 106 candidates were obtained fraudulently, through criminal means and result-manipulation, rendering their appointments void.

The order by Home Department stated, “Since these 106 individuals secured appointment through fraudulent means prior to entering service, they do not enjoy the protections contemplated under Article 311 which provides the provision of an opportunity to be heard.

Out of the 106 identified illegal appointees, the appointment of 3 candidates has been cancelled by the Director, F&ES, for not fulfilling the requisite formalities required for appointment in government service.”