ACB unearths another land scam

ACB team conducting searches in Jammu on Wednesday.
ACB team conducting searches in Jammu on Wednesday.

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 11: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has uncovered another large-scale land scam involving approximately 310 kanals of Custodian land in the Asarwan, Mishriwala and Bhalwal areas of Jammu district.

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Earlier, the ACB unearthed a similar scam involving 210 kanals, exposing the nexus between revenue officers, land grabbers and their conduits.
An ACB official said that based on inputs received, it was revealed that thousands of kanals of Custodian land had been fraudulently acquired by land mafias in Asarwan, Mishriwala and Bhalwal in connivance with officials from the Revenue, Custodian and Police departments.
He said the ACB’s formal verification found that fraudulent alterations were made in revenue records and land was illegally sold.
“The scheme involved manipulating Power of Attorneys (PoAs) from PoJK refugees, who were lured with promises of additional land and payments ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50, 000,” he said.
In response, the ACB has registered 10 FIRs under the Prevention of Corruption Act and related criminal charges, he said. Searches were also conducted across 12 locations in Jammu, with further investigations ongoing to identify more cases of land usurpation.