Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 8: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has exposed another major land scam in the region, involving the illegal encroachment of 40 kanals of Custodian land, allegedly facilitated by Revenue officers in collusion with land grabbers.
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Earlier, the ACB unearthed a scam, wherein 500 kanals of Custodian land was encroached upon by the grabbers, leading to registration of 15 FIRs.
An ACB official disclosed that a formal complaint had been filed regarding the sale of thousands of kanals of Custodian land at Asarwan, Mishriwala and Bhalwal in Jammu district by land grabbers who were reportedly aided by certain revenue officers. These officers allegedly tampered with official records, prompting ACB to launch a formal verification process.
The verification revealed that under a criminal conspiracy, Form 3-A (Form Alf) and Power of Attorneys (PoAs) were secured from various PoJK refugees by promising them additional lands and offering instant cash through intermediaries associated with the land grabbers, said the ACB official.
Followed by this, he said, additions were illicitly made in the revenue records by certain officials in the Revenue and Custodian Departments. This alteration allowed for the sale of these lands to various individuals, including gang leaders and their associates, using fraudulent means, resulting in significant financial losses to the Government.
Based on the preliminary findings, he said, the ACB registered FIR number 20/2024 at Police Station Central J&K under Sections 7, 13(1)(a) and 13(2) of the PC Act 1988 (amended in 2018) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and fraud against several individuals including Pranav Dev Singh and Rahaul Kai, Patwaris; Aqeel Ahmed, Naib Tehsildar; Rajinder Sharma and Varinder Gupta, residents of Marh and Talab Tillo, Jammu, respectively; Jagdish Chander of Flora Nagbani, Marh, Jammu; and Maqbool Choudhary, among other officials from the Revenue and Custodian Departments.
During the investigation, ACB secured search warrants from the Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Jammu and search teams, consisting of ACB officers, independent witnesses, and Magistrates, were deployed across six locations in Jammu and nearby areas, he said.
As per the ACB official, so far, 16 FIRs have been registered in this case, with verification efforts continuing to identify additional illegally occupied Custodian land.
He noted the ongoing probe aimed at revealing the full extent of the land usurpation facilitated by the alleged collusion of officials across the Revenue, Police, and Custodian Departments.
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