ED move against Abdullah in JKCA case under law, says ex-deputy CM Gupta

Former Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) deputy chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kavinder Gupta has welcomed the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s move to attach Lok Sabha member and former CM Farooq Abdullah’s properties worth ₹11.86 crore in the JKCA case.

“Under JKCA (Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association) scam, the ED has initiated action by attaching three properties of Farooq Abdullah. There was a long-pending demand for investigation because it was a big scam,” said Gupta.

“Among the firsts who demanded a thorough investigation into the scam was Gupkar alliance partner People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Hence, the PDP should feel happy today, “ he added.

He was referring to the tie-up between Abdullah’s National Conference (NC), its rival-turned-ally PDP, and four other parties to demand the restoration of the erstwhile state’s special status nullified by the Centre in a controversial move last year.

The Jammu and Kashmir BJP has denied any political vendetta.

Meanwhile, Abdullah’s son, Omar Abdullah, took to Twitter to object to the ED action.

“My father has seen the media reports regarding attachment of his properties in the ongoing investigation into the JKCA matter. Not surprisingly the media was tipped off regarding the seizure before he had received any official notice or documentation,” he posted.

The properties attached are largely ancestral, dating from the 1970s, with the most recent one built before 2003. There can be no justification for the seizures because they fail the very basic test of having been acquired as the proceeds of the “crime” being investigated. .

“Dr Abdullah is in touch with his lawyers & will fight all these baseless charges in the one place that matters - a court of law, where everyone is presumed to be innocent & is entitled to a fair trial unlike in the court of the media or the court of BJP managed social media,” he added.

The attached properties includes three residential houses --- one at Gupkar Road, Srinagar; one at Tehsil Katipora, Tanmarg; and one at Bhatindi, Village Sunjwan, (Jammu) --- and commercial buildings at the posh Residency Road area of Srinagar.

According to the ED, between 2005 and 2006 to December 2011, JKCA received funding totalling ₹109.78 crore from the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). “Dr Farooq Abdullah, between 2006 and January 2012 (when he was president of JKCA), misused his position and clout by illegal appointments of office bearer at JKCA to whom he gave financial powers for the purpose of laundering of JKCA funds,” the statement said.