Patwari booked in disproportionate assets case in Jammu
Jammu: The Anti Corruption Bureau on Monday booked a revenue official here for allegedly amassing immovable property worth crores of rupees in his and his family’s name, officials said.
The accused Javed Ahmed, who served as Revenue official in various areas of Jammu city, amassed more than 25 acres (200 kanals) of prime land worth crores of rupees in Jammu, they said.
“A preliminary inquiry was conducted by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on the allegations that Ahmed, posted as Patwari in Revenue department at Kote in Jammu district, amassed immovable properties worth crore of rupees in his and his family’s name, which was highly disproportionate to his known sources of income,” an official said.
Based upon the results of the inquiry, the ACB registered a case against him and other accused, namely, Javed Ahmed, Bashir Ahmed, Ghulam Fatima, Nazia Kouser and others.
The preliminary inquiry revealed that the accused Javed Ahmed (Patwari) and his family members accumulated immovable assets which included more than 200 kanals of land at village Kanger Tehsil Bhalwal, Jammu, officials said.
In order to avoid scrutiny, the assets were disguised in the names of the accused official’s father, mother and wife, they said.
After registration of an FIR in the case, searches were conducted at the residential house of the accused, and incriminating documents and articles were recovered, which are under scrutiny.
The bank accounts of the accused and his family members are also being scrutinised, officials said.
According to officials, there are reports that a large number of Patwaris posted in Jammu have been involved in tempering with land records, preparing fake land documents of encroached government lands, among others, for monetary benefits.
It is recalled that 3.42 lakh kanal of government land, including forest and state land, has been encroached during the last three decades with active involvement of revenue officials, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the matter.
