Former chief put BOPEE on sale • Mushtaq Peer sold CET papers for Rs 65 lakh • Brokers fetched Rs 5 crore • Beneficiaries wrote answer scripts in hotel • Several Arrests on cards SHAME! A day after Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police raided the houses of former Chairman, Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE), Mushtaq Ahmed Peer, in Kashmir and Jammu in connection with Common Entrance Test 2012 paper selling scam, aspirants and their parents have appealed the authorities to punish those responsible for spoiling the career of hard-working students. Sources in the Crime Branch said that at least six persons including Mushtaq Ahmad Peer would be arrested in a day or two. “We are collecting the evidence and arrests are on cards,” sources said. Meanwhile, sleuths of Crime Branch have arrested an accused Sajid Hussain while another accused, Farooq Ahmed Itoo, has turned an approver. Crime Branch officials told news agency CNS that the information provided by the approver has proved very useful and they have seized important documents pertaining to the case. BOPEE had come under scanner as the results of Common Entrance Test 2012, for MBBS and other courses, declared that year in June had come as a shock to many with aspirants and parents questioning its credibility. During investigations, it has come to fore that the then BOPEE chairman Mushtaq Ahmed Peer allegedly sold CET papers for Rs 65 lakhs to two brokers, Sajid Hussain and Farooq Ahmed, who in turn fetched Rs 5 crores from parents of several students. There are reports that parents of some students sold their land to arrange the money. Interestingly, Mushtaq Peer was given extension by the present government after his retirement and later also re- employed as an ‘Expert’ in Services Selection Board. Following the Crime Branch raid on his houses yesterday, the government, according to sources, terminated the services of Mushtaq Peer as Consultant to fast-track non- gazetted cadre recruitments in the Service Selection Board. In December 2012, Peer was appointed as the Consultant for two years and tasked to render “expert guidance regarding IT applications and computerization besides conducting tests for recruitment to non-gazetted and Class-IV posts through SSB.” Sources said the brokers, in league with BOPEE Chairman and a ‘lady’ had sold the entrance examination papers ahead of the test to dozens of students, majority of whom belong to South Kashmir. “Their network was very strong. The accused called the parents and aspirants to a hotel at Boulevard Road Srinagar to solve entrance papers with the help of experts,” a Crime Branch official said. Another Crime Branch official, on condition of anonymity, told CNS that during the raid on the houses of former BOPEE Chairman at Professors Colony Hazratbal and Sidhra Jammu, sleuths recovered some important documents. “During the raid we recovered documents pertaining to land comprising 10 kanals and 4 marlas in Ganderbal and two flats in Jammu and one flat in New Delhi. We are thoroughly investigating the matter and in near future more arrests are expected,” he said, adding that Peer managed to give a slip to the CB sleuths when they raided his Hazratbal residence. CB official said the sleuths are looking for other accused which include Haroon Rashid resident of Dyalgam Anantnag and Ali Muhammad Mir of Kennelwan Bijbehara. “We have registered an FIR vide number 24/2013 and so far we have questioned 15 students and 10 parents and initial investigation has identified at least 24 beneficiaries,” a CB official said. In-charge Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, Bashir Ahmed confirmed to CNS that documents pertaining to land and flats in Ganderbal, Jammu and Delhi belonging to former BOPEE Chairman have been seized. “We are probing the matter speedily and guilty will not be spared,” he said. Sources said that former BOPEE Chairman has also purchased a huge chunk of land in tourist resort Pahalgam. “We have not found any documents yet pertaining to Pahalgam land,” a Crime Branch official said. The sources also said that the Crime Branch would also look as to why the term of Mushtaq Ahmed Peer as BOPEE Chairman was extended. “Without the consent of higher ups in the government, such things can’t happen,” they said. Sources said that owner of a computer institute in South Kashmir’s Bijbehara town, Farooq Ahmed Itoo, who is at present acting as an approver and helping CB to nail down all the accused, is believed to be the actual broker in this scam. He is also believed to be instrumental in the purchase and sale of question papers. #bk
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 04:00:16 +0000