Chargesheet against 11 in fraudulent mutation case in JK

Jammu and Kashmir State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) Monday filed a chargesheet against 11 persons, including four former revenue officials of Kishtwar district, for preparing fraudulent mutation of state land documents, officials said.

The chargesheet was filed in the court of special judge anti-corruption, Doda, against four retired revenue officials besides seven persons to whom the land measuring over 7.5 acre was transferred on monetary consideration, a spokesman of the SVO said.

He said a complaint was received in 2011, alleging that a large chunk of land in Pouchal area of Kishtwar, which was shown in revenue records in 1971 as government land and not inhabited by anyone, was fraudulently mutated by the revenue authorities.

It was alleged that the said land was going to have the alignment of the Kishtwar-Chatroo-Sinthan road and there would be huge compensation in the offing. The spokesman said the verification confirmed the allegations and revealed that the then revenue officials, including Tehsildar (now expired), Girdwar and two Patwaris (all retired) entered into criminal conspiracy with seven local residents by abusing their official position. The spokesman said the officials made fraudulent entries in revenue records exclusively in their favour.

This was done by initially changing the status of the land in the year 2003 and subsequently attested mutations of the said land in favour of the beneficiaries in the year 2010 by showing their possession over the same since the year 1971.

The possession (land) of the two beneficiaries -- Kuljeet Singh and Pardeep Singh -- shows since 1971. Whereas their dates of birth has been found as February 2, 1977 and April 5, 1964, respectively, the spokesman said.

He said the verification also found that the land came under alignment of Kishtwar-Sinthan Road, and the revenue officials in connivance with beneficiaries intended to grab the compensation.

Meanwhile, the spokesman said another chargesheet was filed in the same court against the then Kishtwar tehsildar Irshad Ahmad Bhat who was caught red handed demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 7,000 from a person for preparing his income certificate last year.