Pathankot land scam: Officials behind transfer of land in 2011 under lens

Tribune News Service

Vishav Bharti

Chandigarh, August 27

Trouble seems to be brewing for officials of the Revenue as well as Panchayat departments, who were instrumental in transferring the panchayat land to some individuals.

According to sources in the government, the Panchayat Department has been asked to probe the role of the officials who, in connivance with the mining mafia, transferred the panchayat land with a registered sale deed in February and April 2011.

The sources reveals that the department is in process of writing to the Punjab Vigilance Bureau to make the tehsildar and the BDPO the party to the case, who facilitated in the land transfer in the name of the individuals.

As per record, Vina Parmar got 350 kanal land transferred in her name through a registered sale deed on February 21, 2011. Similarly, Tarsem Rani got 475 kanals transferred in her name on April 25, 2011. Now, the vigilance has registered a case against all seven beneficiaries.

Now, the question arises that who were behind the registered the sale deed of the land. Apart from that, the role of department officials is also under scanner who remained a mute spectator to the scam and let panchayat land go to the mafia.

However, when the department tried to get the possession of the land, the mining mafia used the fake revenue record to get the land transferred in its name in the Panchayat Department’s record as well by getting an order in their favour from the ADC, Pathankot, in February 2023.

The Tribune unearthed the scam in which a DDPO, who was given the additional charge of ADC on the recommendation of a Cabinet Minister, gave 100 acres of panchayat land to some individuals. Following the stories, an FIR was registered against eight people and two women were also arrested. Revenue officials consistently acted in connivance with the mafia.

‘Make tehsildar, BDPO party to case’

The Panchayat Department is in the process of writing to the Punjab Vigilance Bureau to make the tehsildar and the BDPO the party to the case, who facilitated in the land transfer in the name of the individuals way back in 2011.

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