ACB uncovers fresh custodian land scam in Jammu

Jammu, Apr 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has exposed another major land scam involving Custodian land in Jammu district, officials said here on Friday.
In a statement, a spokesperson said the Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau again achieved a major success in extracting one of the major land scams in Jammu and Kashmir, wherein Custodian land in Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal and R.S. Pura area of Jammu district has been found usurped by the land mafia in connivance with Form Alf Holders and the officers/officials of Custodian / Revenue department.
He said, inputs were received that Custodian land in thousands of Kanal situated at Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal and R.S. Pura Jammu, has been fraudulently grabbed by the land grabbers/gangsters in connivance with the Revenue officers/officials. The revenue records have been tempered and land has been sold to various persons.
“On the basis of the inputs received by ACB a verification was initiated and on the basis of the verification conducted earlier it was found that more than 1000 kanals of Custodian land was shown allotted to the displaced persons on the basis of fake orders, who were otherwise not entitled for the allotment of additional land through fraudulent means by the land grabbers / Form Alaf holders in connivance with the officers /officials of Revenue department and others.”
“Accordingly, 24 case FIRs were registered by the ACB in which the investigation is still in progress. Again, during the course of verification it has been found that displaced persons of Pakistan (PAK / POK Refugees) were already allotted land in their favour but even then kith and kin of these families although not entitled being Form Alaf holders in connivance with the concerned Patwaries / Girdawars / Naib Tehsildars / Tehsildars of Revenue Department got mutations of additional land at R.S. Pura and Domana area of District Jammu attested in their favour either without any Govt. / Provisional Rehabilitation Office (PRO) order or on fake Govt. /PRO order,” said the spokesperson.
He said, during verification it has also been found that no such orders of allotment of land were issued by the office of the PRO. These persons after getting mutation of lands in their favour alienated the said land directly or through their attorney holders / conduits to various persons by resorting to fraudulent means, thereby causing a huge loss to the Govt. Exchequer.
“Owing to the establishment of, prima facie, nexus of the criminal elements/land grabbers/ Form Alaf holders and the Revenue officers/officials in alienation of about 20 kanals 09 Marlas of Custodian land through fraudulent means, ACB has now registered another 03 formal case FIRs in P/S ACB Central J&K for in-depth investigation under the provisions of J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and fraud against the accused persons namely Waryam Singh S/o Shalo Ram R/o Village Kotli Bhagwan Singh (Kuttu Chack) Tehsil R.S. Pura District Jammu then Patwari, Balak Ram S/o Late Buti Ram R/o Village Tootray Tehsil R.S. Pura, Jammu then Naib Tehsildar, Mohan Singh S/o Bhagwan Singh R/o Nanak Nagar Jammu, (4) Prem Singh S/o Churu Ram R/o Baggan Tehsil Bilawar, Kathua, then Patwari, Bharat Bushan Mehra S/o Harbans Lal R/o Mamka, R.S. Pura, Jammu, Rahul Kai S/o Late Deep Raj R/o H. No. 39, New Company Bagh Canal Road, Jammu, then Patwari, Saqib Saleem S/o Saleem Ahmed R/o 54 Majheer Thana Mandi Rajouri then Tahsildar, Sat Pal S/o Nanak Chand R/o Gadi Garh, Jammu and others.” (KNO)