Hamidullah Bhat, Director, NCPUL, Delhi, Arrested for Fraud

News, Events, Notices, Inquiries 

The Annual of Urdu Studies, Page 319,320

III

[The following was received from Ather Farouqui (Delhi) on 26 April 2006: edited for the AUS]

Hamidullah Bhat, Director, NCPUL, Delhi, Arrested for Fraud

Mr. Hamidullah Bhat, the erstwhile Director of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL), an Advisory Body of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, was arrested on 30 September 2005 After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), an intelligence agency under the office of the Prime Minister of India, conducted a raid on his house and office premises. As per the reports which appeared in print and electronic media Mr Bhat, during his tenure as the Director of the council, had amassed assets worth more than Rs.2.2 crores in New Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) alone as per the documents seized. Apart from the cash recovered by the CBI, the sources confirmed in the media that the market value of his assets is more than ten times the amount indicated in the documents. According to the newspaper reports, Mr. Bhat’s assets in Kashmir are not included in the estimate and the CBI will look into them at a later stage.

          Mr. Bhat began his career in Delhi in 1990 as an OSD (Officer on Special Duty) in the Jamia Hamdard, where he was elevated to Registrar. He subsequently resigned, in 1995, much before the completion of his tenure, amid charges of corruption. He was later appointed as an OSD of the Jamia Millia Islamia but was unable to take up the post owing to the protest of students and teachers over his corrupt practices at the Jamia Hamdard. Prior to Jamia Hamdard, now a central university in New Delhi, Mr. Bhat was a Deputy Registrar at the Kashmir University where, again, he was known for his nefarious activities. He became the Director of the NCPUL in 1998. NCPUL has an annual budget of Rs. 12 crore, and all of his assets under scrutiny were acquired after he assumed responsibility at the council. Sources in the Ministry of Human Resource Development confirme that the services at Kashmir University were transferred to the Ministry of HRD during the BJP (Bhartiya Janta Party) rule with several omissions in the service rules, even while his first appointment in the Kashmir University as an Assistant Registrar was politically enabled and did not conform to the relevant norms of the Union Public Service Commission. A CBI officer was quoted by media saying, “ Though it is difficult to immediately explain how Mr. Bhat amassed properties, it is clear that he was misusing his powers as the Director of the NCPUL. As Director, he was handling all the projects that the council was handling [sic]. He had been under watch for a while.” Such arrests are rare and undertaken only if the accused falls under the exceptionally corrupt category on the basis of recovery of cash and documents. He has been suspended from the services and will remain so unless he is exonerated in the trial in the subordinate court.

          The NCPUL is now operating under a nominated body of members and vice chairman. The Minister of Human Resource Development is the ex-officio Chairman and noted critic Shamsur Rahman Faruqi is the Vice Chairman, Mr. Bhat had made the NCPUL an outlet of the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] during the BJP rule.

          The CBI initiated a probe against Mr. Bhat and put him under watch following the publication of my article, “ The Great Urdu Fraud,” in the New Delhi English fortnightly Milli Gazette. The article appeared in two consecutive instalments (1-15 and 16 – 31 May 2005) and highlighted Mr. Bhat’s involvement in one of the projects of the council.

--Ather Farouqui

The Annual of Urdu Studies,

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