Srinagar, June 26 -- Jammu & Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed a chargesheet before the court of special judge, Anti-Corruption, Baramulla, against two retired public servants for their alleged involvement in the embezzlement and misappropriation of government store material worth around Rs. 2.13 crore in the then PHE (Hydraulic) Division, Bandipora. The ACB said that the chargesheet has been filed against Bashir Ahmad Sheikh, then senior assistant/storekeeper, and Mukhtar Ahmad Mir, then in-charge executive engineer, PHE (Hydraulic) division, Bandipora, for offences punishable under Sections 5(1)(c) and 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the Jammu & Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, Samvat 2006, and Sections 409 and 120-B RPC. "The case originated from source information alleging large-scale embezzlement of government store material procured by the PHE (Hydraulic) division, Bandipora, during the financial year 2011-12. An open verification conducted by the then Vigilance Organisation revealed shortages and deficiencies in store material, leading to the registration of the case and initiation of a detailed investigation, which revealed that the accused public servants, while entrusted with the custody, management and supervision of government stores, entered into a criminal conspiracy and dishonestly misappropriated substantial quantities of GI Pipes, Union GI Pipes, QCC Pipes and TOR Steel (TMT Bars). While the loss detected during the initial verification was assessed at Rs.65.11 lakh, detailed investigation established the actual loss to the government at Rs.2,13,16,362," the ACB spokesman said. The investigation established that Bashir Ahmad Sheikh continued to function as storekeeper and retained control of the divisional stores even after his retirement, with the knowledge and permission of Mukhtar Ahmad Mir, who also failed to ensure proper supervisionand mandatory verification of stores, the spokesperson further said. "The investigation further revealed serious violations of the J&K Financial Code governing government stores, and physical verification coupled with record reconciliation established substantial shortages of store material, resulting in a huge loss to the state exchequer. The investigation concluded that the accused public servants, in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy and by abusing their official positions, dishonestly misappropriated government property and caused corresponding wrongful loss of Rs.2.13 croreto the State exchequer. The accused persons were produced before the Court, which admitted them to bail upon furnishing personal bail bonds. The next date of hearing has been fixed for September 5," the spokesperson added....