Jammu, July 8: In a major crackdown on alleged land fraud, the Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has unearthed another significant land scam involving the illegal occupation and fraudulent transfer of Custodian land in Jammu district. The Bureau has registered two fresh FIRs against several revenue officials, land grabbers, conduits and beneficiaries for their alleged involvement in corruption, forgery, abuse of official position and criminal conspiracy.
According to official sources, the scam relates to large tracts of Custodian land located in the Bhalwal and Amb areas of Jammu district, which were allegedly usurped through fraudulent mutations and forged government documents in connivance with revenue officials and Form Alaf holders.
The ACB stated that it had received reliable information indicating that thousands of kanals of Custodian land situated in Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal and R.S. Pura had been illegally occupied. During verification, investigators found that official revenue records had allegedly been manipulated and tampered with before the land was transferred and sold to various private individuals.
The probe further revealed that over 1,000 kanals of Custodian land had earlier been shown as allotted to displaced persons on the basis of forged government orders, despite the beneficiaries having no legal entitlement to such allotments. Following these revelations, the ACB had already registered 27 FIRs, investigations into which are presently underway.
During the latest verification, the Bureau found that while several displaced families from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir had already received land under the rehabilitation policy, some of their relatives allegedly managed to obtain mutations of additional Custodian land in Bhalwal through forged or non-existent allotment orders purportedly issued by the Government or the Provisional Rehabilitation Office (PRO). The fraudulent mutations were allegedly facilitated by officials of the Revenue and Custodian Departments.
The investigation established that no such allotment orders had ever been issued by the PRO. The accused allegedly transferred the illegally acquired land either directly or through attorney holders and middlemen to different purchasers, causing substantial financial loss to the government exchequer.
Based on the findings, the ACB registered FIR No. 09/2026 at Police Station ACB Central, J&K under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code against then Patwari Altaf Hussain, then Girdawar Amjid Malik, then Naib Tehsildar Aqeel Ahmad, along with Mohan Singh, Rabina Kouser and Nazir Hussain. The case pertains to the alleged fraudulent transfer of nearly 12 kanals and 3 marlas of Custodian land.
In another related case, the Bureau also registered FIR No. 10/2026 following a complaint regarding illegal mutations and fraudulent conferment of ownership rights over Custodian land situated at Village Amb in Tehsil Bhalwal.
The verification revealed that certain revenue officials, in alleged criminal conspiracy with beneficiary Rashpal Singh and others, misused their official positions to fraudulently attest mutations and illegally confer ownership rights over approximately 15 kanals and 8 marlas of land, thereby causing wrongful loss to the government.
The second FIR names former Patwari Baldev Raj, former Naib Tehsildar Pawan Kumar Kohli, beneficiary Rashpal Singh and other accused under relevant provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy laws.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau said investigations in both cases have been formally taken up and efforts are underway to ascertain the full extent of the alleged land scam, identify all beneficiaries, middlemen and public servants involved, and ensure that all those responsible are brought to justice in accordance with law. (KNC)
