103 Firemen Sacked In J&K After Probe Finds Irregularities In Recruitment

The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, terminated the services of 103 firemen in the Fire and Emergency Service Department today after a probe found massive irregularities in the recruitment process carried out in 2020.

In the order, the administration said the sacked firemen were illegally selected. Investigation has found that the appointments were made through tampering of records.

In 2022, massive recruitment fraud cases had surfaced in Jammu and Kashmir. This led to an uproar, forcing the administration to order a probe by a panel headed by then Additional Chief Secretary Home RK Goyal. Malpractices in the recruitment of firemen was among the four major recruitment scams that he probed.

Based on Goyal's recommendation, selection list in three departments -- police, finance department and junior engineers were cancelled.  

Today, Goyal took oath as the Chief Information Commissioner of India.

While the investigation into the irregularities in the recruitment of firemen was given J&K Anti-Corruption Bureau, investigation into other three job scams were handed to the Central Bureau of Investigation or the CBI. 

The Opposition blamed Union Territory administration for presiding over scams in recruitments in the region.

During investigation, it was found that J&K Service Selection Board had awarded contract to an agency to conduct recruitment exams. The firm, however, had tainted record and had been blacklisted in other states.  Yet, no senior officer who had awarded contract to tainted agency was held accountable.