Jammu: Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has booked two revenue officials and others, including a beneficiary, in connection with fraudulent mutation of over 10 acres of government land in Samba district, an official said on Sunday.
The case was registered against revenue official Tarsem Lal, then tehsildar of Vijaypur, Zassin Malik, then patwari of Gurha Slathia, beneficiary Rameshwar Singh and others, an ACB spokesperson said.
He said the case was lodged on Saturday at ACB Jammu police station under relevant sections of law including Prevention of Corruption Act following a verification into the allegations that the two revenue officials attested illegal mutation of village Rajinder Singh Pura in Vijaypur Tehsil in favour of Singh as tenant.
The mutation of the land measuring 81 kanals 19 marlas was done contrary to the provisions of Agrarian Reforms Act and guidelines notified by the government pertaining to the protection of state land besides procedure adopted in the proprietary land, the spokesperson said.
During verification, it surfaced that the land in some khasra numbers is recorded as state land, but instead of evicting the encroacher from state land, the same has been entered in mutation in order to confer undue benefit to the beneficiary, he said.
Similarly, the land in some khasra numbers is recorded as proprietary land but as per ‘Jamabandi’ (record of rights) of 1995-96, the land in same khasra numbers are recorded as state land, whereas in the fresh mutation dated April 6, 2015, the land of one khasra number is entered as proprietary land and the land in other two khasra numbers is entered as state land.
The concerned patwari did not mention these facts in his report in the mutation report in question, the spokesperson said.
He said the mutation in question has also been set aside by divisional commissioner Jammu to the extent of illegal entries made in respect of state land with further direction for correction of the same, thereby authenticating the violations made by concerned officials in this regard.
