Srinagar, Dec. 15 -- The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Monday removed 103 personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services Department after concluding that their selection in the 2020 recruitment drive was vitiated by fraud and manipulation.

The government order said the decision was taken after a two-stage examination of the recruitment process - first through a departmental enquiry and later through a criminal investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Both processes, the government said, pointed to serious procedural and criminal violations.

The enquiry committee, set up in December 2022, was tasked with examining complaints related to the selection of firemen and fireman drivers. During its scrutiny, the panel...