India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) reportedly summoned Farooq Abdullah on Thursday on allegations of misappropriation of funds from the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

Farooq Abdullah is the previous chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The ED had provisionally attached a residential property value Rs 7.25 Crore below the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, associated to an investigation towards JKCA workplace bearers in 2022. A chargesheet was filed, alleging misappropriation of INR 43.69 crore. The investigation reportedly revealed that JKCA treasurer Ahsan Ahmad Mirza and others misappropriated funds amounting to INR 51.90 crore. Earlier, properties value INR 14.32 crore have been connected, confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority. A prosecution criticism towards Mirza was filed within the Special PMLA Court, and he was arrested. As per the press launch, the trial commenced in March 2022.

In 2019, Jammu and Kashmir underwent a big change in its standing: its particular autonomy, granted below Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, was revoked by way of a presidential order. Consequently, it ceased to exist as a state and was reorganized into two Union Territories: ‘Jammu and Kashmir’ and ‘Ladakh’. In India, a Union Territory is a area straight ruled by the central authorities, missing the autonomy and legislative powers granted to states, usually established for causes of strategic, administrative, or historic significance. This transfer aimed to combine the area extra carefully with the remainder of India, bringing uniformity within the utility of legal guidelines.

In December 2023, the Indian Supreme Court upheld the 2019 choice, declaring Article 370 as non permanent. The Court directed the Election Commission to carry Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly elections by September 30, 2024. It additionally really useful establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with alleged human rights abuses within the area.

There have been allegations by the opposition in India that the ruling authorities is abusing its energy and harassing the opposition leaders by implicating them in false instances and conjuring up investigations within the run-up to the final elections to be held in April and May. These allegations are bolstered by the current improve in activity by the ED towards opposition leaders. Recently, ED officers have been attacked in West Bengal. Salman Soz, an opposition chief, commented in Abdullah’s context that the “blatant targeting of opposition leaders will eventually backfire” and that the “real scandal” was an “undeserving person” main the Board for Cricket Control in India, referring to Jay Shah, the son of Amit Shah, India’s Home Minister and a serious proponent of the 2019 choice.