J&K Land Scam: Over 1,000 Kanals of Custodian Land Grabbed, ACB Files FIRs Against Officials

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Jammu and Kashmir has exposed a major land scam in which over 1,000 kanals of prime Custodian land were allegedly grabbed by a land mafia in connivance with government officials using forged documents.

This vast stretch of land was shown on paper as having been allotted to displaced persons from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), but in reality, it was usurped by influential land mafias.

According to an official spokesperson, the ACB has achieved a significant breakthrough in unearthing one of the major land scams in Jammu and Kashmir. Custodian land in Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal, and the R.S. Pura areas of Jammu district has been found illegally occupied by land grabbers in connivance with Form ‘Alaf’ holders and officials of the Custodian and Revenue departments.

Inputs had indicated that thousands of kanals of Custodian land in these areas were fraudulently grabbed by a network of land grabbers and gangsters in collusion with revenue officials. Revenue records were tampered with, and the land was subsequently sold to various individuals.

Based on these inputs, the ACB initiated a verification, which revealed that more than 1,000 kanals of Custodian land had been falsely shown as allotted to displaced persons on the basis of fake orders. In many cases, the beneficiaries were not entitled to any additional land.

Accordingly, 24 FIRs were registered by the ACB, and investigations are currently underway.

Further verification revealed that while displaced persons from Pakistan and PoJK had already been allotted land, their relatives managed to secure mutations of additional land in the R.S. Pura and Domana areas of the Jammu district. These mutations were attested either without any valid orders from the Government’s Provincial Rehabilitation Office (PRO) or on the basis of forged documents.

It was also found that no such allotment orders had been issued by the PRO office. After securing mutations, the accused persons sold the land either directly or through attorneys and conduits using fraudulent means, causing substantial losses to the government exchequer.

Following the establishment of a prima facie nexus among land grabbers, Form ‘Alaf’ holders, and revenue officials in the illegal transfer of about 20 kanals and 9 marlas of Custodian land, the ACB has registered three additional FIRs at Police Station ACB Central J&K for a detailed investigation. The cases have been registered under provisions of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, along with charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and fraud.

The accused against whom FIRs have been registered include:

• Waryam Singh, son of Shalo Ram, resident of Village Kotli Bhagwan Singh (Kuttu Chak), Tehsil RS Pura, District Jammu (then Patwari)
• Balak Ram, son of late Buti Ram, resident of Village Tootray, Tehsil RS Pura, Jammu (then Naib Tehsildar)
• Mohan Singh, son of Bhagwan Singh, resident of Nanak Nagar, Jammu
• Prem Singh, son of Churu Ram, resident of Baggan, Tehsil Bilawar, Kathua (then Patwari)
• Bharat Bhushan Mehra, son of Harbans Lal, resident of Mamka, RS Pura, Jammu
• Rahul Kai, son of late Deep Raj, resident of House No. 39, New Company Bagh, Canal Road, Jammu (then Patwari)
• Saqib Saleem, son of Saleem Ahmed, resident of Majheer, Thana Mandi, Rajouri (then Tehsildar)
• Sat Pal, son of Nanak Chand, resident of Gadi Garh, Jammu

What is Custodian land in J&K

Custodian land in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) refers to property left behind by persons who migrated to Pakistan during the 1947, 1965, and 1971 conflicts. The Evacuees’ Property Department manages this land under the J&K State Evacuees’ (Administration of Property) Act, Svt. 2006.

The property is managed by the Custodian General and Deputy Custodians appointed by the government. Records from the Custodian Jammu indicate over 14 lakh kanals of evacuee land exist in the Jammu division.

Land can be leased or allotted to eligible displaced persons under specific legal procedures, though many cases are currently under investigation.