SRINAGAR: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has exposed a land scam involving around 40 kanals of custodian land in the Asarwan area of Jammu, allegedly usurped by the land mafia in collusion with revenue and police officers.
A spokesperson in a statement said that ACB had previously uncovered a similar scam involving over 500 kanals of land, with 15 FIRs already filed. “In this latest case, ACB investigations revealed that revenue records were tampered with, and land was fraudulently sold to various individuals, including land grabbers. PoK refugees were allegedly lured with promises of additional land and instant money, with power of attorney documents obtained to further the illegal transactions.”
“The ACB has registered FIR No. 20/2024 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sections 120-B, 420, 467, 468, and 471 of the IPC. The accused include revenue officials and members of the land mafia. Searches have been conducted at multiple locations, and further investigations are underway to uncover more land usurpation linked to the scam,” it adds.
It added that during the course of investigation, after obtaining the search warrant from the special judge anti corruption Jammu, search teams comprising ACB officers, independent witnesses, magistrates were dispatched to around six locations throughout Jammu and its adjoining areas.
“As of now around 16 FIRs have been registered for investigation while verification is still in progress to unearth the remaining usurped custodian land by land mafia in connivance with officers and officials of revenue, police and custodian department,” it added. (KNO)
