103 Firemen Dismissed in Jammu & Kashmir Following Major Recruitment Fraud Investigation

Srinagar:

The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, has terminated the services of 103 firemen from the Fire and Emergency Service Department following an investigation that uncovered significant irregularities in the 2020 recruitment process.

According to the administration's order, the dismissed firemen were illegally appointed. The investigation revealed that these appointments resulted from deliberate tampering with official records.

In 2022, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed several major recruitment fraud cases come to light, causing public outrage. This prompted the administration to establish an investigative panel led by then Additional Chief Secretary Home RK Goyal. The malpractices in firemen recruitment constituted one of four major recruitment scandals under investigation.

Following Goyal's recommendations, selection lists in three departments were invalidated, including those in police, finance department, and junior engineers positions.

Notably, Goyal has today taken oath as the Chief Information Commissioner of India.

While the firemen recruitment irregularities investigation was assigned to the J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau, the other three employment scandals were transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Opposition parties have criticized the Union Territory administration for allowing such recruitment scandals to occur under their watch.

Investigators discovered that the J&K Service Selection Board had contracted an agency with a questionable reputation to conduct the recruitment examinations. The firm had previously been blacklisted in other states. Despite this serious oversight, no senior officials responsible for awarding the contract to this tainted agency have been held accountable.