₹43 L Biryani Scam Hits J&K Football Association

| Updated: 01 August, 2022 6:42 pm IST

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SRINAGAR: Officials at the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) allegedly swindled ₹43 lakhs of government funds by raising fake bills for the purchase of Biryani from a restaurant in Srinagar.

Now, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against the JKFA for misappropriation of funds provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council for promotion of football.

JKFA president Zamir Thakur, treasurer Surinder Singh Bunty, chief executive SA Hameed, member Fayaz Ahmad and some other office bearers have been booked for withdrawing funds against false and fabricated bills.

“The case was registered after the initial investigation in which some fraud was detected. As of now, no person has been arrested. Further action will be taken only after completion of the investigation,” ACB officials said here.

In a preliminary investigation, the ACB found that association members showed an amount of ₹43,06,500 paid to a restaurant in Srinagar for the purchase of “Biryani” as refreshment for teams.

However, the bureau found that no such refreshment has ever been given to any team in any district of Kashmir division. The bills placed on record before the ACB have been found fake.

It also discovered that association officials also raised fake bills amounting to ₹1,41,300 to be paid to Hindustan Photostat for various activities.

Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council had released ₹50 lakhs for the JKFA, out of which ₹43,06,500 was misappropriated, officials said.

Interestingly, all the fake bill produced before the ACB carry handwritten signature of the same person.

According to ACB, some football lovers lodged a written complaint through one Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat, alleging that the funds allotted to JKFA for conducting football activities across the Union territory were misused.

According to ACB, it has also been found that the J&K Sports Council released the funds to the JKFA before the commencement of events without ensuring account for on-ground utilization and follow-up.