Jammu: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) submitted a chargesheet on Saturday in a corruption case against officials and other persons for the alleged misappropriation of ration in a village of Jammu district, officials said.
The chargesheet was produced before the court of the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Jammu, against nine officials and other persons of the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department for alleged misappropriation of ration, corruption, misuse of official position and causing loss to the state exchequer, officials said.
According to the ACB, the case pertains to the fraudulent issuance and misappropriation of ration meant for Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) beneficiaries, by allegedly granting ration to 188 non-existent families in Khandwal village of Jammu district.
Four of those against whom the chargesheet was filed in the corruption case registered in 2011 have died.
The chargesheet names — then Tehsil Supply Officer Jammu Bhajan Singh, then Assistant Director Miraj-U-Din, then Patwari Halqa Khandwal Mohd Rashid, then Sarpanch Panchayat Khandwal Paramdeep Singh, then Panch Dhrub Singh, then ration dealer Harbans Lal (now deceased), then Panch Balbir Singh (now deceased), then Nambardar Romesh Singh (now deceased), and then Chowkidar Ami Chand (now deceased).
The case was registered on August 10, 2011, following a verification which revealed that in 2004, officials allegedly processed and recommended the appointment of a ration dealer on the basis of a list containing non-existent BPL and AAY families without proper verification, they said.
Between 2004 and 2010, subsidised rations continued to be issued based on the inflated list, ACB officials said.
During verification, only 26 BPL and 17 AAY families were found genuine, while 188 families were found non-existent.
The investigation found that large quantities of wheat, atta, rice and excess sugar were issued against these fake beneficiaries, leading to an estimated loss of Rs 30.33 lakh to the state exchequer, they said.
After completion of the investigation, the case was established, and the chargesheet was filed before the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Jammu, for judicial determination, the officials added.
2 revenue officials chargesheeted over ‘illegal’ transfer of land on Jammu outskirts
Two revenue officials were chargesheeted for allegedly transferring prime land worth Rs 22 crore to private persons in Nagrota, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) said on Saturday.
A chargesheet produced by the anti-graft agency before the court of Jammu anti-corruption special judge carried the names of the two officials and 31 private persons, alleged to be the beneficiaries of the corruption.
The legal action follows a case filed in 2020 against the illegal transfer of state land in Nagrota and adjoining areas of Jammu district, the ACB said.
The two revenue officials named in the chargesheet are Rajesh Kumar, then in-charge tehsildar of Nagrota, and Riaz Ahmed, then in-charge patwari of halqa Jagti Nagrota.
It has been alleged that between 2016 and 2018, the two conspired with some private persons to confer proprietary rights over government land in Jagti, Nagrota, Dung, Marh, and Sitni villages.
Investigations revealed that government notifications issued in 1958 and 1966 were fraudulently invoked while mandatory safeguards were wilfully violated, officials said.
As a result, state land measuring 196 kanal and 10 marla was allegedly transferred to private persons through 18 unauthorised mutations.
The present market value of the land is estimated at over Rs 22 crore, they added.
After the filing of the chargesheet, the matter was transferred to the court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Anti-Corruption, Jammu, for judicial determination.
In its 2015 report, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India flagged “massive encroachment” of state land and pulled up the Jammu Development Authority for failing to demarcate 7,243 acres of land under its control.
