CB quizzes ex-MLC, AACL Dy Secy held
TNN Bureau. Updated: 2/21/2020 10:57:54 AM
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Illegal Appointment
SRINAGAR: The Crime Branch of Jammu & Kashmir Police has questioned former MLC Zaffar Iqbal Manhas over appointment of publicity-cum-public relation officer in the J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) in 2009, sources disclosed.
Highly placed sources disclosed that Manhas was quizzed by the CB at their Jammu headquarters on Wednesday over appointment of Syed Shakeel-Ur-Rehman as publicity-cum-PRO in the Academy.
“Shakeel-ur-Rehman,deputy secretary, Cultural Academy, has been arrested by the CB,” they said.
Manhas was secretary of the Academy when Shakeel was appointed as its PRO.
The appointment has raised eyebrows in 2009, with other candidates accusing the Academy of bending rules and regulations to favor Shakeel.
Talking to this newspaper, Manhas said that Crime Branch sought his “feedback” over an appointment made some years ago in the Academy. “I explained to them how the post was advertised and selection process conducted,” he said, adding that he informed them that six-member panel conducted interview for the position.
Before joining politics, Manhas served as secretary of J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. He was nominated as MLC in 2015 when PDP and BJP formed coalition government. In 2017, Mehbooba Mufti-led government appointed him as vice- president of the Academy.