Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Wednesday sacked 15 tainted civil servants from active service.

The action was taken under Article 226 of (2)/(3) of J&K Civil Services Regulations. All those officials retired had completed 22 years of service or attained age of 48, required under law for such action, an official spokesperson said in Srinagar.

The officials included Shah Latif, a Kashmir Administrative Service officer and director, Rural Sanitation, Jammu; G M Bhat, controller, Drug and Food Control Organisation, Jammu; M Y Kohli, lecturer (English), Government Degree College, Rajouri; Mehraj-ud-Din Khan, executive engineer, Rural Development Department; Ghulam Rasool Magray, chief inspector, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department, Kashmir; and Mohammed Maqbool Mir, agriculture overseer, Office of District Agriculture Officer (Inputs).

The Mufti had during the last budget session promised to cleanse the administration of dead wood and tainted officers and announced a 3-member committee headed by chief secretary to consider cases for retirement of officials having completed 22 years of service or age of 48.

"This is the first list of such retired officials and more may follow," the spokesperson added.