Jammu, Nov 8: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jammu Friday conducted raids and searches in around six locations throughout Jammu and its adjoining areas, in yet another land scam. Around 40 kanals of Custodian land in Asarwan area of district was usurped by the land mafia in nexus with officials of Revenue, Custodian Departments.
Raids were conducted after obtaining the search warrant from the Special Judge Anti-Corruption Jammu, following registration of case by ACB against seven officers and officials of Revenue, Custodian department and land-grabbers.
Prior to this case, the ACB had unearthed a land scam involving more than 500 kanals of Custodian land and registered 15 FIRs for investigation.
Inputs were received that Custodian land in hundreds and thousands of Kanals situated at Asarwan, Mishriwala and Bhalwal in Jammu district, was fraudulently grabbed by the land grabbers and gangsters in connivance with the Revenue and Police officers and officials, an ACB spokesperson said. “The revenue records have been tempered and land has been sold to various persons,” the spokesperson said.
ACB conducted a formal verification wherein it was found that in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, Form 3-A (Form Alf) along with Power of Attorneys (PoAs) were obtained from various PoK Refugees, alluring them of additional lands and providing them instant money by the conduits of land grabbers.
“Thereafter insertions and additions regarding additional chunks of custodian lands were made in the revenue records by the officials and officers of the Revenue and Custodian department, by sheer abuse of their official positions and these lands were sold by the conduits and attorney holders to various persons including their own gang leaders and members, by resorting to fraudulent means, thereby causing a huge loss to the Government exchequer,” ACB spokesperson said.
According to the spokesperson, owing to the establishment of, prima facie, nexus of the criminal elements and land grabbers and the Revenue, Custodian officers and officials in alienation of Custodian land through fraudulent means, ACB registered formal case FIR No. 20/2024 in Police Station Central J&K for investigation under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and fraud punishable u/s 7, 13 (1) (a) and 13(2) of PC Act, 1988 (amended in 2018) and sections 120-B, 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC against seven officers and officials of Revenue, Custodian department besides others.
Case was registered against Pranav Dev Singh, Patwari; Rahaul Kai, Patwari; Aqeel Ahmed, Naib Tehsildar; Rajinder Sharma, son of Jagdish Chander, resident of Flora Nagbani Marh Jammu; Varinder Gupta, son of Banarsi Dass Gupta, resident of H No F-41, Lane No 6, Near Police Post, Talab Tillo Jammu; Jagdish Chander, son of Dev Raj, resident of Flora Nagbani Marh Jammu and Maqbool Choudhary, son of Haji Hameed – officers and officials of Revenue, Custodian department besides others.
“During the course of investigation, after obtaining the search warrant from the Special Judge Anti-Corruption Jammu, search teams comprising ACB officers, independent witnesses, Magistrates were dispatched to around six locations throughout Jammu and its adjoining areas,” the spokesperson said.
The ACB earlier unearthed a land scam involving more than 500 kanals of Custodian land, in respect of which 15 FIRs were already registered for investigation.
“As of now, around 16 FIRs have been registered for investigation while the verification is still in progress to unearth the remaining usurped custodian land by land mafia in connivance with officers and officials of Revenue, Police and Custodian department,” spokesperson said.
