Srinagar, Sept 21st :
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jammu and Kashmir, has launched a major criminal investigation into alleged large-scale financial irregularities in the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), booking Arvind Saini, the then Branch Head of J&K Grameen Bank, Reban Branch, Sopore, along with Business Correspondent Firdous Ahmad Sheikh and others.
According to the ACB, the case exposes serious allegations of abuse of official position, manipulation of subsidy-linked loan accounts and suspected diversion of public funds during the period 2021–2023.
The anti-corruption agency alleges that Saini, acting in alleged connivance with Sheikh, prematurely released or reversed capital subsidies amounting to ₹41.17 lakh across 25 PMEGP loan accounts, allegedly bypassing the mandatory lock-in period and without the required authorisation or adjustment letter from the implementing agency.
The allegations become more serious with the ACB claiming that six of the affected loan accounts were sanctioned in the names of Sheikh and his family members and were allegedly closed prematurely by adjusting the subsidy component.
In another significant finding, the ACB physically verified 46 PMEGP units linked to loans worth approximately ₹1.66 crore and, according to the agency, found no business units operating at the concerned locations.
The findings have raised serious allegations of possible diversion or misutilisation of loan and subsidy funds and a potential subversion of the very purpose for which the government-backed employment scheme was sanctioned.
The ACB has accordingly registered FIR No. 05/2026 under Section 13(1) against Saini, Sheikh and others. The case now places the alleged handling of PMEGP funds at the concerned bank branch under a detailed criminal investigation.