Of 74, only 10 owners join probe into Majrian scam

Jupinderjit Singh

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau’s probe into the 2,714-acre land scam at Majrian village in Mohali has turned murkier.

After processing ownership records of about 700 acres, the VB has come to know that there were 74 owners of different pieces of land. Of these, only 10 have joined the investigation so far. The remaining have not responded to the summons.

Land prices at Majrian and other villages in the periphery of Chandigarh had multiplied fast in the last decade when influential persons moved there to develop farm houses, resorts or high-rise residential buildings.

Sources in the department said the owners who did not join the investigation were already under suspicion. “Either the piece of land has a proxy owner or it is benami,” said the sources. The VB believes there could be proxy owners as one of the four persons arrested for tampering with the records of the village common land so that it could be sold illegally was Hans Raj, a driver of property dealer and main accused Sham Lal. Sham Lal is absconding.

The VB had on May 9 arrested four of the 11 persons booked for selling the shamlat (village common land) in a fraudulent manner at Majrian.

Under the rules, the village common land or the panchayat land cannot be sold or bought. However, around two decades ago, the land mafia started buying and selling hundreds of acres by tampering with revenue records.

Some of the present owners, may be the victims of the land scam, as they trusted revenue officials who approved the sale-purchase.

VB officials have already announced that 558 acres of land was registered in 14 fake names by tampering with the mutation number 3159. The VB officials said in connivance with revenue officials, the original documents under which land had been transferred were destroyed from the records of the Revenue Department.

Fail to respond to summons

After processing ownership records of about 700 acres, the VB has come to know that there were 74 owners of different pieces of land. Of these, only 10 have joined the investigation so far. The remaining have not responded to the summons.