The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau has once again achieved a major breakthrough in uncovering one of the largest land scams in Jammu and Kashmir.
The investigation revealed that Custodian land in the Bhalwal and Amb areas of Jammu district had been illegally usurped by a land mafia in connivance with Form Alaf holders, as well as officers and officials of the Custodian and Revenue Departments.
The ACB spokesman here today, in an official communiqué, said that inputs were received indicating that Custodian land, measuring thousands of kanals and situated at Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal, and R.S. Pura, Jammu, had been fraudulently grabbed by land grabbers and gangsters in connivance with Revenue officers and officials.
“The revenue records have been tampered with, and the land has been sold to various persons,” he said.
He stated that, based on the inputs received, the ACB initiated a verification. The verification revealed that more than 1,000 kanals of Custodian land had been shown as allotted to displaced persons on the basis of fake orders. These persons were otherwise not entitled to the allotment of additional land, which was secured through fraudulent means by land grabbers, Form ALF holders (or holders of Form ALF, if preferred), in connivance with officers and officials of the Revenue Department and others.
Again, he expressed that during the course of verification it has been found that displaced persons of Pakistan (PAK/POK Refugees) were already allotted land in their favour but even then kith and kin of these families although not entitled being Form Alaf holders in connivance with the concerned Patwaries, Girdawars, Naib Tehsildars and Tehsildars of Revenue Department got mutations of additional land at Bhalwal area of District Jammu attested in their favour either without any Government, Provisional Rehabilitation Office (PRO) order or on fake Government and PRO order.
During verification, he said that it has also been found that no such orders of allotment of land were issued by the office of the PRO. These persons after getting mutation of lands in their favour alienated the said land directly or through their attorney holders or conduits to various persons by resorting to fraudulent means, thereby causing a huge loss to the Government Exchequer, said the spokesman.
Owing to the establishment of, prima facie, nexus of the criminal elements, land grabbers, form Alaf holders and the Revenue officers and officials in alienation of about 12 kanals three Marlas of Custodian land through fraudulent means, ACB has now registered formal case under relevant sections in Police Station ACB Central J&K for in-depth investigation under the provisions of J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and fraud against the accused persons namely Altaf Hussain of Village Gursai Tehsil Mendher Poonch, at present Gura Brahmana, Jammu, then Patwari, Amjid Malik of Rajinder Pura Rahya Samba then Girdawar, Aqeel Ahmad of Buffliaz (Chamrar), Tehsil Suronkote District Poonch, at present Friends Enclave Chowadhi, Jammu, the then Naib Tehsildar Balwal, Mohan Singh of Batala, at present Nanak Nagar Jammu, Rabina Kouser of Mendhar District Poonch, Nazir Hussain of Bagani Talab Raipur Domana Jammu.
The ACB has also registered another FIR following a complaint by Kuldeep Singh of Marjali Kangrail regarding alleged fraudulent mutations and illegal conferment of ownership rights over land in Village Amb, Tehsil Bhalwal.
The verification reportedly found that revenue officials, in alleged criminal conspiracy with beneficiaries, fraudulently attested mutations, resulting in the illegal transfer of ownership rights over approximately 15 kanals and eight marlas of land and causing wrongful loss to the government exchequer.
During the course of the verification, it was found that the revenue officials, by abusing their official position and entering into a criminal conspiracy with beneficiary Rashpal Singh and others, fraudulently attested mutations in favour of the illegal beneficiaries, thereby illegally conferring ownership rights over approximately 15 kanals and 8 marlas of land upon them. This caused a corresponding wrongful loss to the Government exchequer, he said.
Accordingly, the ACB has registered another formal case at Police Station ACB Central, J&K, under the relevant provisions of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, as well as sections relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and fraud, for an in-depth investigation against the accused, namely Baldev Raj, then Patwari Halqa, Village Amb; Pawan Kumar Kohli, then Naib Tehsildar; Rashpal Singh (beneficiary) of Marjali Kangrail; and others.
He stated that, based on the inputs received, the ACB initiated a verification. The verification revealed that more than 1,000 kanals of Custodian land had been shown as allotted to displaced persons on the basis of fake orders. These persons were otherwise not entitled to the allotment of additional land, which was secured through fraudulent means by land grabbers, Form ALF holders (or holders of Form ALF, if preferred), in connivance with officers and officials of the Revenue Department and others.
Accordingly, 27 FIRs were registered by the ACB, and the investigation in these cases is still in progress, he stated.
