An anti-corruption court has issued summons against a PDP MLA following a chargesheet filed by state Crime Branch against five persons in a decade-old Jammu and Kashmir Development Authority township scam. Crime Branch had filed a chargesheet against MLA Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari,the then Minister for Housing and Urban Development of NC besides four others in the 1998 Sidhra township scam. The Special Judge (Anti-Corruption) J R Kotwal issued summons against him yesterday and arrest warrants against Abas Ansari,Madan Lal Kalra,Jayant Bhuta and B Murlidhar. The summon to the MLA has been issued by the court through the Speaker of Legislative Assembly. According to the chargesheet,on June 16,1998,the then vice-chairman JDA had lodged a complaint with police that his signatures were forged on a letter purported to have been written by him to M/S IPPL on June 2,1998 and that forged letter has serious implications necessitating investigation. A case was registered under Ranbir Penal Code but probe was later handed over to the crime branch. It submitted that JDA with the object of promoting and securing the development of Sidhra town in accordance with the Master Plan,entered into an agreement with IPPL for financing the Sidhra project. The company allegedly prepared fake documents and got bank guarantee for Rs 4.75 crore on July 23,1997,on the request of VC JDA without adopting proper procedure,it said.
