ACB unearths major land scam in Jammu 24 FIRs lodged against revenue officials land grabbers

Jammu, April 24 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has unearthed major land-related irregularities here, registering 24 FIRs against revenue officials, land grabbers, conduits and beneficiaries involved in alleged fraudulent usurpation of prime custodian land parcels, officials said on Friday.
     According to the ACB, thousands of kanals of custodian land in areas including Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal and R S Pura were illegally grabbed by land mafia in connivance with attorney holders and officials of the custodian and revenue departments.
     The irregularities came to light after inputs were received that large tracts of land had been fraudulently grabbed through tampering of revenue records, before being sold to unsuspecting buyers, officials said.
     Accordingly, 24 FIRs have been registered by the ACB and a thorough investigation has been launched, they said.
     A verification conducted by the ACB revealed that over 1,000 kanals of custodian land were shown allotted to displaced persons of PoK (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir) on the basis of fake or forged orders, even though many beneficiaries were not entitled to such allotments, the ACB said.
     Officials said several displaced persons from PoK territories had already been allotted land, but their relatives, ineligible for additional allotments, managed to secure mutations in their favour through fraudulent means.
     This was allegedly done in connivance with patwaris, girdawars, naib tehsildars and tehsildars, either without any valid government or Provisional Rehabilitation Office (PRO) orders or on the basis of forged documents, they said.
     The ACB further found that no such allotment orders were issued by the PRO, and the accused subsequently sold or transferred the land through attorney holders and conduits, causing substantial losses to the government exchequer.
     During the course of the probe, a prima facie nexus between land grabbers, attorney holders and revenue officials was established in the illegal alienation of custodian land, they said. "In one such instance, about 20 kanals and 9 marlas of land were fraudulently transferred."
     Following the findings, the ACB registered three additional FIRs at the ACB Central J-K police station for in-depth investigation under relevant sections of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, along with charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and fraud.
     Those named in the FIRs include erstwhile patwaris, former tehsildars and a then naib tehsildar, besides others.
     The investigation into the case is ongoing, and further arrests and revelations are expected, officials added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)