MUZAFFARABAD, March 25: Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Syed Manzoor Hussain Gillani has referred the case of a teacher who had levelled some serious allegations against the education department to the AJK Ehtesab Bureau for inquiry and appropriate action in accordance with the law.

HC sources told Dawn on Thursday that primary teacher Ms Abida Shaheen had stated in her application that she had not been paid salary, had been maltreated and shown absent from duty by the education department officials.

She alleged that instead her salary was being drawn from the national exchequer by the relevant officials by forging and fabricating documents. The education department pleaded before the CJ that the salary had been paid to Ms Shaheen from July 2003 to Jan 2004 whereas previously the applicant was proceeded against under efficiency and discipline rules and her period of absence was treated as without leave. However, there was no reply with respect to other periods as alleged by the applicant.

The CJ held that the matter required detailed inquiry and if proved, would amount to a case of most serious misuse of powers, misappropriation and embezzlement of public funds and fabrication and forgery of records, and ordered the court officials to refer the case to the bureau with the relevant documents, sources said.