Srinagar: Fire and Emergency aspirants on Thursday thanked the Lieutenant Governor and BJP member Ravindra Raina after the government terminated 103 firemen appointed through a fraudulent 2020 recruitment process.
Several aspirants gathered at Srinagar’s Press Enclave, calling for a review of additional evidence submitted in the matter.
They said the inquiry was fair and has restored their faith in merit-based recruitment. “The past appointments were irregular; we respect the process and hope this ensures transparency in future recruitments,” Kashmir News Observer quoted them as saying.
On Monday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha terminated 103 firemen in the Fire and Emergency Services Department after an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe found their recruitment to be illegal and manipulated.
The action followed the findings of an inquiry committee constituted by the LG administration on Dec. 12, 2022, to examine alleged irregularities in the 2020 recruitment of firemen and fireman drivers by the Fire and Emergency Services department.
After a detailed review, the committee recommended a criminal investigation by the J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau into allegations of question paper leakage, result manipulation and tampering with official records.
The ACB investigation uncovered large-scale manipulation of OMR sheets, fabrication of scanned answer sheets and illegal alteration of merit lists, confirming that results had been manipulated in favour of 106 candidates. Investigators found that the beneficiaries were awarded marks far higher than what they had actually secured, with digital evidence also tampered with.
A government order issued by Principal Secretary Chandraker Bharti, following approval by the lieutenant governor, stated that the appointments of the 106 candidates were obtained through fraudulent and criminal means, rendering them void from the outset.
The order said the constitutional safeguards under Article 311(2) do not apply in cases where appointments are illegal from inception and rooted in fraud, citing judgments of the J&K High Court and the Supreme Court.
Of the 106 candidates identified as illegally selected, the services of three firemen had earlier been terminated by the Fire and Emergency Services Directorate, while the remaining 103 were dismissed through the latest order. All terminated employees have been directed to immediately cease association with the department.
Allowing them to continue would amount to perpetuating illegality and undermine public trust and the integrity of the recruitment process, the order said.
The LG administration has also blacklisted an IT firm, M/s LMES IT LLP, along with its vendor, Maharaj Krishan Wali, barring them from participating in any future recruitment-related tenders across the Union Territory.
