Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau (JKACB) on Tuesday registered a case under FIR No. 21/2025 at Police Station ACB Srinagar following verification conducted on the basis of a complaint received from inhabitants of village Arigam, Budgam.
In a press release, ACB said said that the verification revealed that one Ali Mohammad Khan, son of Sonaullah Khan of Arigam Budgam, had constructed a petrol pump on Kahcharaie land at Arigam in June 2020, on the basis of a license issued by the competent authority on “manipulated and misleading facts”.
It said the investigations disclosed that during 2018, NOCs were issued by the then Patwari Arigam, Naib Tehsildar Arigam, and Tehsildar Khansahab for proprietary land under Survey Nos. 531 and 533 Min. However, these officers “deliberately omitted” to record that access to the said land was only through State/Kahcharaie land (Survey No. 535) and failed to mention that the land was separated from the main road by Kahcharaie land prone to encroachment.
Further, it surfaced that the concerned Patwari concealed the existence of Survey No. 532 (Shamilat land) while preparing the Khaka Dasti, thereby misrepresenting the factual position of the site. Despite a clarification sought by the ADC Budgam in March 2018, the field staff falsely reported that the site was feasible for transportation and storage of fuel.
On the basis of these misleading NOCs and reports, the then Deputy Commissioner Budgam issued a Petrol Pump license (No. DCB/2020/10 dated 22.05.2020) in favour of the beneficiary on Survey Nos. 531 and 533, which were not adjacent to each other.
The then SDM Khansahab also forwarded the reports to higher authorities without conducting an independent spot verification or record scrutiny, the release said.
In this manner, the concerned revenue officers and officials, by abuse of their official positions and in criminal conspiracy with the beneficiary, facilitated encroachment on State land and conferred undue pecuniary benefit upon the said individual.
Accordingly, offences under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) and Section 120-B of IPC have been established against the accused public servants and beneficiaries. Consequently, Case FIR No. 21/2025 has been registered at Police Station ACB Srinagar, the release said and added that further investigation of the case has been taken up.
