{"id":353320,"date":"2025-04-14T00:48:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T06:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=353320"},"modified":"2025-04-14T01:07:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T06:37:48","slug":"kashmir-nc-leader-named-in-land-compensation-scam-he-calls-it-gag-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/kashmir-nc-leader-named-in-land-compensation-scam-he-calls-it-gag-bid\/","title":{"rendered":"Kashmir: NC leader named in land compensation scam, he calls it gag bid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a charge sheet against 22 individuals\u2014including Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi\u2014in connection with alleged fraudulent withdrawal of compensation payments by tampering with revenue records in Budgam district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, an ACB spokesperson said: “Anti-Corruption Bureau produced charge sheet before the Hon\u2019ble Court of Special Judge, Anti-Corruption Srinagar in Case FIR No. 18\/2009 under Section 5(1)(d) r\/w 5(2) of J&K PC Act Svt. 2006 and Section 120-B, 467, 468, 471 RPC against 22 accused persons, including two Collectors of LAWDA, four other public servants (now retired) and 16 beneficiaries.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case stems from a Joint Surprise Check (JSC) conducted by the ACB into alleged misuse of official position by officers and officials of the Rukhs and Farms Department in Kashmir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Ruhullah on Saturday dismissed the corruption charges levelled against him by the ACB, terming them a political vendetta aimed at silencing his dissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a press conference held in Budgam, Ruhullah strongly refuted the allegations. \u201cI want to make it clear that I have nothing to do with this case,\u201d he said. \u201cI was never called by the ACB or any investigating agency for questioning. There is not a single piece of evidence or even a recorded statement of mine in the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruhullah said he had received a nominal compensation amount as a legal heir after his father\u2019s death. \u201cThe land belonged to my father. I did not claim any compensation personally. The money was distributed among the legal heirs, and I received a small part, like my siblings,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NC leader alleged that the timing of the chargesheet\u2014coming just weeks before Lok Sabha elections\u2014was aimed at damaging his political prospects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is clearly a politically motivated move. I am being targeted because I have been a consistent dissenter and critic of the government. This is not a legal action, it is a political message,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruhullah also pointed out that despite being named in the chargesheet, he has not been summoned by the court so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no mention of me being accused of forgery, bribery, or any misuse of power. Yet I am being dragged into this to create a narrative,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling on the people to see through what he called a \u201cmalicious attempt,\u201d Ruhullah said the charges would not deter him from speaking out. \u201cIf the government thinks they can silence me by throwing such baseless charges, they are mistaken. I will continue to speak the truth and raise my voice,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Conference has extended full support to Ruhullah, with party spokespersons alleging misuse of institutions to target opposition leaders ahead of the elections.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a charge sheet against 22 individuals\u2014including Member of Parliament Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi\u2014in connection with alleged fraudulent withdrawal of compensation payments by tampering with revenue records in Budgam district. In a statement, an ACB spokesperson said: “Anti-Corruption Bureau produced charge sheet before the Hon\u2019ble Court […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":353321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36],"tags":[16181,15760],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353320"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":353323,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353320\/revisions\/353323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/353321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}