On one side BJP-government led by Prime Minister Modi has been criticising separatists for anti-national activities, on other side PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir has flouted all rules to provide a job to pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s grandson.
“Geelani’s grandson, Anees-ul-Islam, was appointed research officer in Sher-e-Kashmir international convection complex (SKICC), a subsidiary wing of the J&K tourism department, flouting all rules of recruitment policy of the state government,” says TOI quoting sources.
The pensionable job fetches an annual salary of Rs 12 lakh, sources said.
Anees, an MBA from Jalandhar, Punjab, was refused a passport by the state regional passport office on adverse reports from the J&K CID in 2009.
He was finally granted his passport following a state high court order. Anees went to the UK for another masters in business administration, sources said.
They added that the state tourism department, directly controlled by CM Mehbooba Mufti, did not refer the post to recruiting agencies like J&K State Subordinate Services Recruitment Board or Public Service Commission, mandatory for the selection process.
However, tourism secretary Farooq Shah, who was also the chairman of “senior selection committee”, said Geelani’s grandson Anees’s selection was made after following proper rules.”We invited applications from candidates; he was found fit for the post.”
However, an official at the Sher-e-Kashmir international convection complex (SKICC) said that the tourism secretary had appointed Anees much earlier.
The tourism department decided to accommodate Anees when Geelani was calling for protests and shutdowns, and violence, arson and killings were the order of the day, the official said.
For want of his CID verification, which is still pending, Anees has not taken any salary yet. It will be paid to him pending clearance.
One of the applicants with an MBA degree said, “My application was accepted by the SKICC in October 2016 but, I was never called for an interview.”
There were around 140 applications but nobody except a few favourable ones were called, he said.
