ACB books former revenue officials, others in land scam
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday registered a formal case against former revenue officials and others in a case related to a land scam.
The ACB had earlier registered the case in a complaint against Ravinder Sharma, the then Tehsildar Settlement Jammu; Mohammad Bashir, the then Tehsildar Bahu; Mohd Sarwar Lone the then Naib Tehsildar Bahu; and Mohd Rasheed Malik, the then Patwari Chowadhi, Jammu. The formal case against the accused was registered after an inquiry into the initial complaint.
“Some beneficiaries and others were also named in the case for allotment of state land in favour of Tara Singh, resident of Deli Rakh Bandu in Jammu. The land was allotted under the provision of the government order No. 254/C dated July 19, 2014, without fulfilling the conditions of the Cabinet order No. 578-C of 1954” an official said.
In the inquiry conducted into the matter, it has surfaced that allotment order was issued on May 24, 2013 in favour of Tara Singh as refugee allottee under Cabinet Order No. 578-C and ownership rights were conferred upon the allottee on July 19, 2014 under the provision of government order No 254/C in violation of the said Cabinet order, wherein it is clearly mentioned the allottee shall have to cultivate the land personally, within a period of six months from the date of the allotment, failing which he will forfeit his right to hold the land and it shall be allotted to some other displaced person.
An official said, “Further, as per the Register Khasra Girdawari, the land in question remained continuously entered in the name of one Nazir Ahmad. Moreover, as per the revenue record, the allotted land in question was neither in possession of allottee Tara Singh nor entry of girdawari has been found in the revenue record in the name of Ahmed, whereas, power of attorney pertaining to the land in question in favour of Javid Iqbal has been executed well before the conferment of ownership rights in favour of Tara Singh”.
The official said that in this way, the then Tehsildar Settlement Jammu, along with the then Revenue Officials of Tehsil Bahu, beneficiary Tara Singh, Nazir Ahmad and attorney holder Javed Iqbal conspired together in a well-orchestrated manner to illegally obtain state land. “They subsequently sold the land — worth crores — causing significant loss to the state exchequer,” the official said.
