The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has uncovered a large-scale land scam in Jammu district, where custodian land in Bhalwal and Amb areas was illegally usurped by a land mafia in collusion with revenue officials. Multiple FIRs have been registered after investigations revealed that more than 1,000 kanals of custodian land were fraudulently allotted to displaced persons from Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) based on fabricated orders.
Details of the Fraud
According to an official ACB statement, inputs indicated that custodian land measuring thousands of kanals located in Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal, and RS Pura in Jammu had been grabbed through tampered revenue records and sold to various individuals. The displaced persons were entitled to land allotment under a government scheme, but the allotments in question were made on fake orders without any authorization from the Provisional Rehabilitation Office (PRO).
The ACB, continuing its investigation, detected more such cases of illegal land allotment involving revenue officials. The accused, with the help of Patwaris, Girdawars, Naib Tehsildars, and Tehsildars of the Revenue Department, got mutations of additional land in the Bhalwal area attested in their favor either without any PRO order or based on forged documents.
Nexus Between Officials and Land Mafia
“During verification, it has also been found that no such orders of allotment of land were issued by the office of the Provisional Rehabilitation Office. These persons after getting mutation of lands in their favour alienated the said land directly or through their attorney holders and conduits to various persons by resorting to fraudulent means, thereby causing a huge loss to the government exchequer,” the ACB statement read.
The bureau has now registered a formal case under Section 7, 13(1)(a) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (amended in 2018) and Sections 120-B, 420, 467, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code at the ACB police station, central Jammu and Kashmir. The case involves allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and fraud. The investigation is focused on the alienation of approximately 12 kanals and 3 marlas of custodian land through fraudulent means.
Accused Named in FIR
Six individuals have been named in the FIR: Altaf Hussain, a former Patwari from Gura Brahmana, Jammu; Amjid Malik, a former Girdawar from Rajinder Pura Rahya, Samba; Aqeel Ahmad, a former Naib Tehsildar from Friends Enclave Chowadhi, Jammu; Mohan Singh from Nanak Nagar, Jammu; Rabina Kouser from Poonch; and Nazir Hussain from Raipur Domana, Jammu. The ACB has launched an in-depth investigation to uncover the full extent of the scam and identify other accomplices.
