Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Sept 20: A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team today raided Doordarshan Kendra (DDK), Srinagar in connection with the multi-crore scam including misappropriation of funds in DDK, Srinagar, by several top officials of the Government broadcasting corporation during past few years.
A two member team of CBI raided DDK, Srinagar at around 4:30 p.m. and left the Kendra at around 5:30 p.m. The DD team was looking for records pertaining to various programmes that were produced and telecast in DDK, Srinagar since 2008. But the team was told that the records are not ready and were assured that it will be provided to them tomorrow.
Sources said that the former Station Director, Shammi Shair, who was attached to Doordarshan Headquarters in New Delhi last week has not handed over charge to new director, Qayoom Wadera, who was transferred from Leh to replace Shair who is facing CBI inquiry for misappropriation of funds.
Sources said that the former Director has locked records pertaining to the programmes in her own room. However, a two member audit team of Directorate of Doordarshan New Delhi comprising a Deputy Director and Section Officer took photocopies of all relevant records pertaining to production and telecast of programmes from DDK since 2008 two days before Shami Shair was removed as Director DDK, Srinagar.
The team was here early this month for 5 days to investigate the multi-core fraud in which former Director DDK Shami Shair, present director Qayoom Wadera, former Deputy Director Zeeshan Fazili and 12 other producers of the DDK Srinagar are allegedly involved. These producers had done the alleged fraud in league with the former Director DDK, Rafiq Masoodi. Masoodi who was Deputy Director General (DDG) DD at New Delhi was suspended in July this year following the findings of his alleged involvement in multi-core scam by DD Vigilance.
Sources said that there is backlog of around Rs 30 crore of telecast programmes and around Rs 25 crore of produced programmes that are yet to be telecast.
Sources said that the DD audit team that took programme records early this month has found the producers in league with the Directors have shown hundreds of in-house productions since 2010 when actually these programmes were illegally outsourced by the majority of the DDK Srinagar producers.
The audit team has reportedly found that DDK, Srinagar has no records about the shooting of these in-house programmes in DDK Srinagar or their post production done inside DDK Srinagar. The producers have neither shown these programmes shot and edited by using hired equipment. The team has, however, reportedly found that producers have shown huge amounts spent under different heads by these producers.
The producers in order to earn fast bucks have exceeded the programme budgets resulting in huge liabilities for past few years. The audit team has reportedly found that the present Director had allotted programmes worth Rs 1.5 crore in few weeks when he was posted in DDK, Srinagar as Deputy Director before he was appointed as director DDK Leh. They have also found that the Shami Shair has also illegally cleared her own backlog of Rs 1.5 crore during her tenure as Director DDK Srinagar.
It may be mentioned here that CEO Prasar Bharti, Jawahar Sircar had said in July this year during an annual conference of the North Zone officers of the official electronic media at SKICC Srinagar that DDK, Srinagar had become a hub of corruption. He had assured that he will clear the mess and those responsible will not be spared. Since then action has been taken against two former Directors. Former Director Rafiq Masoodi was suspended and ex-director Shami Shair was attached and several other producers and Deputy Directors are in soup.
Masoodi was suspended for misappropriation of funds amounting to crores of rupees, allotting contracts without proper sanction, and projection of wrong facts regarding engagement of casual labours at DDK Srinagar. Besides this a Departmental inquiry had found that he had allegedly purchased 9000 segments for DD’s Current Affairs morning show in 2009 and 2010.
The CEO had taken a serious note of the allegations leveled by the private producers of Kashmir valley against Shammi Shair. They had told the CEO that she had failed to revive programme activity and had drawn Crores of rupees in the name of her friends, relatives, acquaintances, neighbours and even her own drivers and domestic helps. The private producers had handed over several hundred page documents to the CEO as an evidence of her alleged frauds.
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