The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday carried out searches spread across 13 locations in Srinagar, Jammu, Gurgaon and Noida in connection with an arms licence case.

The investigation is into two cases related to allegations of issuance of around two lakh arms licences from different districts of Jammu and Kashmir by their respective Deputy Commissioners or District Magistrates.

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The raids were conducted by the probe agency at the premises of then Deputy Commissioners or District Magistrates of Kupwara, Baramulla, Udhampur, Kishtwar, Shopian, Rajouri, Doda and Pulwama.

Multiple CBI teams carried out the raids at the residential premises of one former Deputy Commissioner and seven former District Magistrates deputed in different districts of Jammu & Kashmir for their alleged involvement in giving nod to the arms licences.

The searches were carried out by respective deputy commissioners (DC) and district magistrates (DM).

The CBI searched the premises of Mudgil, a 2007-batch IAS officer, the then DC Baramulla, Rajiv Ranjan, a 2010-batch IAS officer, then DC Kupwara, Itrat Hussain, the then DM Kupwara, Salim Mohammed, the then DM Kishtwar, Mohammed Junaid Khan, the then DM Kishtwar, FC Bhagat, the then DM Rajouri, Farooq Ahmed Khan, the then DM Doda and Jenhagir Ahmed Mir, the then DM Pulwama.

It was also alleged that the then public servants received illegal gratification in the issuance of licences to non-residents of Jammu and Kashmir in violation of rules.

The case was handed over to the CBI on the basis of a recommendation from Rajasthan Director General of Police OP Galhotra as the anti-terror squad (ATS) had busted a racket related to the matter.

The Rajasthan ATS had estimated that around 4.29 lakh arms licences were issued in the last decade from various districts of militancy-hit Jammu and Kashmir.

The CBI had registered two FIRs in this regard with the consent of the Jammu and Kashmir government with the then DC of Kupwara listed as an accused in one of them while unidentified officials of various districts have been mentioned in another.

The CBI’s Chandigarh unit has registered the FIRs for alleged criminal misconduct and criminal conspiracy under the Ranbir Penal Code and in violation of Section 3/25 of the Arms Act, besides provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

The case was transferred to the CBI on a strong recommendation of DGP Galhotra who had written to the Jammu and Kashmir home department suggesting “transfer of the case” to the central agency without any further delay, officials said.

According to the Rajasthan ATS, the probe involvement of some IAS officers of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre in the issuance of arms licences on forged documents.

This is the first major operation of probe agency CBI after the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir as a Union Territory. It has given the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the jurisdiction to operate there under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act that governs it.

The state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh on August 5 by the government.

(With agency inputs)