Another Patwari caught red-handed accepting Rs 17,000 bribe
VIVEK SHARMA
JAMMU: With today’s trap and registration of a fresh case against Mohd Hanif, Patwari of Halqa Tikri, Udhampur, the total number of Revenue Department officials booked by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) across Jammu & Kashmir in the year 2025 and January 2026 has reached 45.
Official records show that nearly 40 revenue officials were booked during 2025, while six revenue officials including four Patwaris and one Tehsil office clerk have been booked in 2026 so far.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Jammu & Kashmir has registered today a fresh FIR against Mohd Hanif, Patwari of Halqa Tikri, Udhampur, for demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 17,000, once again highlighting the persistent and deep-rooted corruption in the Revenue Department across the Union Territory.
According to official sources, ACB received a written complaint wherein the complainant alleged that despite completing all prescribed rules and formalities required for construction of a residential house, the accused Patwari began demanding illegal gratification. The demand was initially fixed at Rs 30,000, which was later negotiated down to Rs 17,000. Patwari Mohd Hanif allegedly threatened the complainant that he would not permit the laying of the roof slab (lanter) unless the bribe amount was paid.
The complainant, stating that he was against corruption, approached ACB Jammu for legal action. A discreet verification was conducted, which confirmed the demand of bribe by the public servant. Consequently, FIR 01/2026 under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 was registered at Police Station ACB Central, Jammu.
During the course of investigation, a trap team was constituted. The accused Patwari Mohd Hanif was caught red-handed demanding and accepting Rs 17,000 from the complainant in the presence of independent witnesses. The tainted money was recovered from his office. However, the accused managed to flee from the spot, and sustained efforts are underway to trace and arrest him. Searches and further investigation are in progress.
The case of Patwari Mohd Hanif is not an isolated incident, but part of a continuing trend of corruption within the Revenue Department. Even in the opening weeks of 2026, multiple Revenue officials have already been booked by the ACB across Jammu and Kashmir.
In 2026, Pardhan Singh, Patwari of Halqa Laddha, Tehsil Moungri, District Udhampur, was caught in a bribe trap for demanding and accepting Rs 5,000. Similarly, Mohd Razaq, Patwari of Halqa Sokar/Prori, Tehsil Koteranka, District Rajouri, was trapped while accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. In Kashmir province, Riyaz Ahmad Khan, Patwari of Halqa Rakh Soothu, Budgam, was booked by ACB Srinagar for accepting Rs 10,000 as bribe.
Apart from Patwaris, other Revenue staff have also come under the scanner in 2026. Laiq Ahmad Nath, Clerk in Tehsil Office Central, Shalteng, Srinagar, was trapped while accepting a bribe of Rs 2,000, further underlining that corruption cuts across various levels of the Revenue hierarchy.
These fresh cases add to the alarming record of 2025, during which nearly 40 Revenue Department officials were booked by ACB across Jammu and Kashmir.
In Jammu province, Patwaris such as Sudershan Khajuria (Halqa Khanpur, Kathua), Naveed Ahmed (Kool Kalan, Jammu), Riaz Ahmed (Nagrota), Mohd Rasheed Malik (Chowadhi), Liaquat Ali (Thuthay Chak, Kathua), Chuni Lal (Dansal), Sunil Kumar (Dadui, Samba), Ganderab Singh (Thalora, Udhampur), Muzamil Salam (Pogal Paristan, Ramban) and Ashok Kumar (Batote) were caught or booked in bribe trap and corruption cases. In the Rajouri-Poonch belt, Mohd Jameel (Halqa Dhara) and Jameel Ahmed Bhat (Halqa Shahpur) were also booked.
Large-scale illegal mutation scams exposed a deeper nexus involving Patwaris Suresh Sharma, Navjot Singh, Faryad Ahmed, Bashir Ahmad, Shabir Ahmed, Shakeel Ahmad and Rashpal Singh, along with Girdawars Mohd Aslam, Iqbal Zargar and Hans Raj, and senior officers including Tehsildars Mohit Gupta, Farooq Khan, Avtar Singh and Tarsem Lal, particularly in Bhalwal, Nagrota and Jammu belts.
In Kashmir province, ACB booked Patwaris Gulzar Ahmad Ganai (Anantnag), Mushtaq Ahmad Khatana (Kulgam), Ashiq Hussain Shah (Shopian), Tahir Jan Malla (Budgam), Bashir Ahmad Bhat (Arigam, Budgam) and Manzoor Ahmad Bhat (Hajin). Senior Revenue officials including SDM Khansahab Saminar Naik, Tehsildar Ali Mohammad Malik, and Naib Tehsildars Fayaz Ahmad Khan and Mohd Iqbal Zargar were also booked in high-profile land and construction related scams.
The continuation of such cases into 2026 has reinforced concerns that corruption at the grass-root level of Revenue administration remains rampant, directly impacting ordinary citizens who are forced to pay bribes for services they are legally entitled to.
ACB officials have reiterated that the drive against corruption will continue relentlessly, cautioning public servants that no rank, position or posting will shield them from the law. Further investigation into the Mohd Hanif Patwari Tikri case is underway.
