STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Jammu has registered a case against then Naib Tehsildar & Girdawar Niabat Sohal Akhnoor for illegally changing type of land measuring approximately 58 Kanals and 16 Marlas.
According to ACB, a verification conducted to look into allegations regarding change in kind of land from Gair Mumkin Khad to Waryal Awal in Khasra No 99 (measuring 58 Kanals 16 Marlas) situated at Badgal Khurd Tehsil Akhnoor and in Khasra No. 344 situated at Dhok Jagir Tehsil Akhnoor by the then Revenue officers, it revealed that then Naib Tehsildar Bharat Bhushan posted at Niabat Sohal in connivance with other revenue officials have changed kind of land from Gair-Mumkin-Khad/Roar to Waryal Doam in Khasra No. 99 and in Khasra No. 344 situated at Dhok Jagir Tehsil Akhnoor, illegally which he was not competent to do. Due to their illegal acts, the beneficiaries sold land to other persons and thereby it changed ownership/possession of the aforementioned land in question.
According to FIR, during verification it came to fore that Government of J&K had issued circular No. 502/Circular/23/1347-80 dated 22.07.2006 with the directions that ‘No change in the kind of soil can be done by any officer below the rank of Collector’. Subsequently, the Government had made policy regarding change of land use vide order No. 138-Reg (s) of 2016 dated 07.10.2016 for both and Urban & Rural areas. As per said policy, the district level committee under the chairmanship of Depty Commissioner shall process the case and forward it to Divisional Commissioner who in turn shall forward the same to Administrative Department along with his recommendations. Moreover, High Court of J&K vide order dated 10.07.2014 passed directions that ‘construction in the areas of water body or abutting the water body shall remain stayed and further directed that the sale of land concerning the bed of river and the land recorded in the revenue record as Khad also remained stayed’.
The verification conducted so far prima facie established that accused officers/officials have illegally and with dishonest intention fabricated and manipulated the revenue record by abusing their official position for pecuniary gains to confer undue benefits upon beneficiaries and corresponding loss to state exchequer. The aforementioned acts of omission and commission on the part of below mentioned public servants as well as private persons constitute the commission of offences under sections 5 (1) (d) read with 5 (2) of J&K PC Act Svt 2006 and Section 120-B RPC against (1) Bharat Bhushan, the then Naib Tehsildar Niabat Sohal Tehsil Akhnoor (2) Balwant Raj, the then Girdawar Naibat Sohal Tehsil Akhnoor (3) Roshan Lal, son of Sewa Ram, resident of Dhok Jagir (4) Vikram Kumar, son of Phattu Ram, resident of Dhok Jagir, Sudgal Khurd (5) Ashok Kumar, son of Ambu Barwala, resident of Dhok Jagir (6) Amrik Singh, son of Ghulab Singh, resident of Dhok Jagir (7) Bittu, son of Joginder Lal, resident of Dhok Jagir (8) Madan Lal (9) Som Raj (10) Raghu Kumar, son of Prem Chand, resident of Dhok Jagir (11) Ashwani Kumar, son of Ramesh Kumar, resident of Dhok Jagir Tehsil Akhnoor and others. Accordingly, FIR was registered at Police Station ACB-Jammu against the accused officials and beneficiaries.
