Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 15: The State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) has unearthed Rs 3.28 crores worth fraud in allotment of 20 kanals of prime Custodian land to a civilian on the pretext of religious work at Sunjwan Bathindi in Channi Himmat area and registered a case against the then Custodian General and other senior officers/officials of the Department.
Official sources said the Custodian Department had allotted 20 kanals of land at Sunjwan Bathindi in Channi Himmat area at throwaway prices to Mohammad Ashraf Sheikh on the pretext of some religious work on the payment of Rs 3.6 lakhs per kanal during the year 2013 as against the then market rate of Rs 22 lakh per kanal, thus, causing loss to the Government exchequer worth Rs 3.28 crores.
Sources said the Vigilance Organisation started preliminary investigations into the case after getting complaints that the Custodian Department had sold out its prime land for peanuts to a civilian. The complainant alleged that land was sold at very low rates as compared to the market price causing huge loss to the State exchequer.
The investigations conducted by a high level team of the Vigilance Organisation revealed that the then Custodian General Abdul Majeed Wani, who has since retired, in consent with other officers and officials of the Department had allotted 20 kanals of prime custodian land to Mohammad Ashraf Sheikh on the pretext of carrying out some religious works at the rate of Rs 3.6 lakh per kanal. The land was allotted under Survey Nos. 39, 40 and 42 min situated at Sunjwan Bathindi in Channi Himmat area during 2013.
The market value of the land was Rs 20 lakh per kanal at that time. This way, the Custodian Department caused loss to the State exchequer to the tune of Rs 16.40 lakh per kanal totaling Rs 3.28 crores.
During investigations, the Vigilance Organisation seized all relevant record from the Custodian Department pertaining to the land allotment and registered First Information Report (FIR) No. 31/2015 at Vigilance Organisation Jammu police station under Sections 5(1) (d) read with 5 (2) Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act and 120-B RPC against the then Custodian General Jammu Abdul Majeed Wani, who has since retired from the services and other concerned officers/officials of the Department, who were involved in the process of allotment of Custodian land to the private parties.
The Vigilance Organisation has taken up further investigations in the case. The Vigilance investigations have also established that the officers and officials of the Custodian Department had not followed due procedure while processing the case for allotment of the land.
An official handout issued by the Vigilance Organisation said that the “verification conducted into the allegations against officers / officials of Custodian department revealed that by abuse of their official position in league with illegal occupants allotted land measuring 20 Kanals falling under Survey Nos. 39,40 and 42 min situated at Sunjwan Bathindi Channi Himmat Jammu in favour of one Mohammad Ashraf Sheikh at throwaway prices of Rs. 3.6 lakh per kanal against the Circle rate of Rs 22 lakh per kanal during the year 2013 by undertaking gross irregularities thus causing heavy loss to State exchequer and illegal benefit to themselves and beneficiaries.
“The verification further revealed that the gross irregularities were in the shape of re-allotting the land fraudulently projecting the land as meant by the beneficiary for religious/institutional purposes, which was already allotted in the name of Estates Department in the year 2012 and falsely claiming that rate of the land had been fixed by the Assessment Committee”.
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