ibn sultan
Jammu, July 4: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has suspended eight officials of the School Education Department over the procurement and approval of two books allegedly containing “inappropriate” and “separatism-related” content for government school libraries.
According to an official order issued by the School Education Department, the action followed an inquiry that found serious negligence and lack of due diligence in the selection and recommendation of the books.
The two books—Personalities and Legends of J&K by Hilal Ahmad and Santosh Meena, and Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir by Sushant Giri—were procured under the Samagra Shiksha library scheme and distributed to government schools before being withdrawn.
As per the order, 123 copies of Personalities and Legends of J&K were supplied to schools in Jammu, Ramban, and Udhampur districts, while 128 copies of Great Personalities of Jammu and Kashmir were distributed to schools in Jammu and Baramulla districts.
The government stated that the books contained material allegedly related to separatism, which could potentially create law and order issues. It held members of the concerned expert sub-committee and supervisory officers responsible for the lapses.
The suspended officials include Library Coordinator Fazil Imran Saddiqui, Assistant Coordinator Gurjeet Singh, GHSS Kore Punnu Principal Sanjeev Sharma, SCERT Jammu Academic Officer Shazia Kouser, and lecturers Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir, Niranjan Sharma, Renu Mengi, and Rajmohini.
The government also terminated the services of contractual Computer Assistant Sheikh Suheel Ahmad, who had been assisting the Library Coordinator, with immediate effect.
To investigate the matter, the government has appointed Additional Chief Secretary, Power Development Department, Ashwani Kumar, as the Inquiry Officer, while Additional Secretary, General Administration Department, Rohit Sharma, will serve as the Presenting Officer. The inquiry report has been directed to be submitted within 30 days.
The government has also blacklisted the authors and publishers of both books in the Union Territory and ordered the withdrawal of all printed material authored or published by them from Jammu and Kashmir.
