3 ex-DCs, several Revenue officials under scanner
*Officers gave false info to shield politician
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 25: The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) today registered Preliminary Enquiry (PE) into encroachment of large chunk of forest and State land by RB Educational Trust owned by former Minister and two times Lok Sabha MP Choudhary Lal Singh at Rajbagh in Kathua district. Three Deputy Commissioners and number of Revenue Department officers who were posted in the district from 2009-12 when there was Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre and National Conference-Congress Government in J&K are under scanner of the CBI for either facilitating land encroachment by the Trust or turning blind eye towards it.
Top CBI officials told the Excelsior that Preliminary Enquiry No. 2 of 2020 was registered today by the CBI after prima facie it was established during investigations that large chunk of forest and State land has been encroached upon by RB Educational Trust headed by Choudhary Lal Singh, who had served as Cabinet Minister in PDP-Congress coalition Government as well as PDP-BJP Government besides remaining Lok Sabha member for two full terms from Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Parliamentary constituency.
RB Educational Trust is a three-storey building at Rajbagh in Kathua district which houses Delhi Public School (DPS), BEd and Nursing colleges besides residential complex equipped with most modernized facilities. However, the total land on which the Trust complex has been raised was always under scanner of various agencies for encroachment of State land.
“All Trustees will be called for interrogation shortly to take their view point. They will be asked to submit documents to establish ownership over the total land in possession of RB Educational Trust,” the officials said.
Investigations have revealed that the Trust has encroached upon vast chunk of forest and State land for construction of the building in violation of Agrarian Reforms Act 1976. At least three Deputy Commissioners and several Revenue and other officials who remained posted in Kathua district from 2009-12 are under scanner of the CBI as they had either facilitated land encroachment by Lal Singh, who was a Lok Sabha Member then, or acted as mute spectator to the encroachments.
“It has also surfaced during preliminary investigations by the CBI that the then Deputy Commissioners and Revenue officials had furnished false information at different official forums to shield Choudhary Lal Singh as his party, the Congress, was in power then, both at the Centre as well as the then State of Jammu and Kashmir,” sources said, adding that involvement of some more persons in the scam could surface once the investigations gather pace.
The CBI has constituted a special team for investigation of the scam as it involved a politician. Further, the encroached land has value running into crores.
This is the second high profile case registered by the CBI involving a politician in Jammu and Kashmir after erstwhile State was bifurcated into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh and the CBI got full powers in the UTs to operate like other States of the country.
The first case was registered against Hillal Rather son of senior NC leader and former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather in Rs 177 cr scam.
On March 1 this year, the Enforcement Directorate had attached assets running into crores in connection with JKCA scam.
The case involving Lal Singh will be registered under Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in which investigations have been made time-bound and bribe giver is also made an accused.
Choudhary Lal Singh remained MLA, Cabinet Minister and MP on Congress mandate till 2014 when he quit the party and joined the BJP. He remained Cabinet Minister in PDP-BJP coalition Government till he was asked to resign for visiting dharna held in favour of the accused of Rassana rape-cum-murder of minor girl. Later, he had floated Dogra Swabhiman Front and contested 2019 Lok Sabha elections from both Jammu-Poonch and Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seats only to forfeit his security deposit.
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