Srinagar, Jun 8 (IANS): In a sudden development, Jammu and Kashmir Bank Chairman-cum-Managing Director Parvez Ahmed was sacked on Saturday and soon after his office and residence were raided by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

There was no official word on the reasons for the sacking of Ahmed, who had been appointed to the post in 2016, or the grounds for the raids.

A government order issued on Saturday said: "Parvez Ahmed shall cease to be Director on the Board of Directors of the Bank and consequently be no longer the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the board.

"R.K. Chhibber is hereby nominated as the Director on the Board and may be further appointed as the Interim Chairman-cum-Managing Director."

The order, addressed to the company secretary of the bank, comes into effect immediately.

Hours later, the sleuths of ACB carried out simultaneous raids at Ahmed's office located in the corporate headquarters of the bank and his residence.

The state government owns 59 per cent shares of J&K Bank.

This is the only private sector bank designated as the Reserve Bank of India's agent for banking business and carries out the banking business of the Central government besides collecting central taxes for CBDT.

The action came six months after the State Administrative Council (SAC), headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik, approved a proposal for treating the bank as a PSU, bringing it under the purview of the Right to Information Act, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner guidelines and the state legislature.

The decision came under widespread criticism from mainstream political parties and business and trade groups but the Governor, who is administering the state because of the President's Rule, later said safeguarding the autonomy and operational independence of the institution would remain the key objective of the state administration.

He insisted that "nothing new" was being imposed and that transparency was good for the bank in the long term.

Malik had said the bank, as a government company, is a public authority under the RTI Act and hence is automatically subject to the transparency provisions of the RTI.

"Safeguarding the autonomy and operational independence of the bank is key objective of the administration at all times," the Governor had said.