The Jammu and Kashmir Vigilance Organisation on Monday raided three houses of a top state bureaucrat, who has reportedly fled Srinagar.
The JKVO, entrusted with anticorruption duties, is looking for Ajit Kumar, an Indian Administrative Service officer who is the state financial commissioner.
The JKVO acted on a report that during his tenure as principle secretary, education, Kumar allegedly caused financial loss to the exchequer running into crores of rupees by violating rules while approving tenders.
"The accused, Ajit Kumar, and Janak Singh, then financial adviser of the education department, abused their official position and allowed private contractors to make huge profits by procuring huge quantity of jute matting at the rate of Rs 55.50 per metre as against the prevailing rate of Rs 43 per metre," a JKVO statement said.
VO sources said simultaneous raids were conducted at Kumar's private residence in Delhi and his official residences in Srinagar and Jammu.
"He has fled from here in a car, obviously to avert arrest and questioning. This has given credibility to the anti-corruption charges against him. We have alerted authorities on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway, Jammu railway station and the airport to keep an eye for him," a JKVO officer told rediff.com.
Kumar is the senior most IAS officer against whom the JKVO has acted. He has headed important departments, including power, public works, education and finance, and was a contender for the top post of state chief secretary.
"Raids were also conducted at the residences of the Janak Singh and Ghulam Rasool Vakil, a well known businessman who acted as a middleman in the case of abuse of official position with dishonest intentions. We have sealed the three residences of Kumar and seized incriminating documents," the VO officer told rediff.com.