*Revenue officials, property dealers being booked
Documents, pen drive, laptops seized; accounts frozen
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 11: The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) today conducted simultaneous raids in Jammu, Ambala, Patna and New Delhi in connection with multi-crore Defence land scam near Srinagar Airport and seized documents pertaining to issuance of No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the then Defence Estates Office of the Ministry of Defence, Srinagar for sale of military land.
In Jammu, the CBI raided residence of Vijay Kumar at Lakkar Mandi in Janipura, presently posted as SDO-I in Rajouri, formerly in Defence Estate Office at Srinagar and seized documents regarding issuance of NOC, pen drive etc. The joint locker of the officer along with his wife Swaran Lata and back accounts with State Bank of India (SBI), Rehari branch and Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited (JKBL), Rehari branch have been seized.
The CBI also raided residence of Ajay Chowdhary, a 1997 batch Defence Estate Official at Ambala in Haryana and seized documents. Resi- dences of other officials, who were posted in Defence Estate Office at Srinagar at the time of issuance of NOC of military land measuring over 200 acres to property dealers and local people for raising constructions, were also searched.
The NOCs were issued in connivance with a number of Revenue officials of the State, who have been identified by the CBI and could be called for interrogation along with property dealers and private persons involved in the land scam.
Exact cost of the prime military land near Srinagar International Airport sold in connivance of Defence Estate Office, Revenue officials, property dealers and local people was being worked out but it ran into hundreds of crores.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the CBI today conducted raids after registering FIR No. 7/2012 at its New Delhi branch, which had been entrusted inquiry into the scam by the CBI Headquarters. The FIR has been registered under Sections 120 and 420 RPC read with Section 5 (1) (D) further read with 5 (2) Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act.
Defence Minister A K Antony had referred the land scam for CBI probe. Bharatiya Janata Party’s Anti-Scams Committee had detected the scam.
Sources said the CBI has found that more than 70 NOCs were issued by the Defence Estates Department in Srinagar. These NOCs were issued to private parties to buy more than 200 acres of land near high-security military installations in Srinagar.
Sources said a CBI team from New Delhi had taken search warrant from Special Court of Anti-Corruption at Srinagar yesterday for raiding the house of Vijay Kumar.
Raids were conducted simultaneously from 8 am today at residences of all the then officers of Defence Estate Office, Srinagar, who were involved in issuance of NOC for sale of military land worth crores near Srinagar Airport. From all the places, the CBI has recovered documents, pen drives, laptops and other instruments, which carried details pertaining to the scam.
A CBI team from New Delhi with the assistance of its Jammu wing raided the house of Vijay Kumar at Lakkar Mandi, Janipura. Vijay Kumar was presently posted as SDO-I Rajouri and was in the office of Defence Estate at Srinagar at the time of scam. The searches in the presence of a Magistrate and independent witnesses continued for three hours.
Sources said the CBI team seized some documents pertaining to issuance of NOC. The CBI also seized a pen driver containing some important data. The raid was conducted in the presence of Vijay Kumar.
The CBI team along with Vijay Kumar then proceeded to SBI and Jammu and Kashmir Bank branches at Rehari and checked bank accounts and locket of Vijay Kumar, sources said, adding that the bank accounts have been frozen and locker sealed. The CBI has asked the bank authorities to furnish details of banking transactions of the official especially for the period pertaining to land scam.
Sources said no one has been arrested so far in connection with the scam. However, the arrests have not been ruled out. They added that all officials, whose houses were raided today at Jammu, Ambala, Patna and New Delhi would be called for questioning. Depending upon their involvement, some arrests in the scam were not ruled out.
All raiding parties from different States would be returning to New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday and would be sharing evidence on Monday before proceeding with the case.
Sources said residence of Ajay Chowdhary, a 1997 batch Defence Estates Officer, who was posted in Srinagar at the time of scam, was also searched at Ambala in Haryana and some important documents seized from there. His bank accounts were also searches in the local banks.
Ajay Chowdhary and Vijay Kumar have already been named in the FIR along with a woman and other officials then posted at Defence Estate Office of the Ministry of Defence, Srinagar.
According to the CBI case, it was alleged that a huge area of Defence Ministry land near a sensitive zone in Srinagar was suspected to have been taken by private persons in connivance with officials of Revenue Department of J&K State and Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE), Srinagar.
There was no provision to issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the office of DGDE for the purpose of sale or purchase of defence owned or occupied land, the CBI said.
As per the existing rules, defence land cannot be alienated to anyone without prior approval but the accused officials allegedly entered into criminal conspiracy with unknown private persons and issued NOCs for the purpose of sale or purchase of defence land measuring 12.25 acres which was neither owned by Defence Ministry or by the State Government.
On the basis of these unauthorisedly issued NOCs by Defence Estate Office, certain private persons dishonestly and fraudulently managed to execute the sale deeds and attestation of mutation of the defence land, the CBI said.
Some of the private persons had approached Deputy Commissioner of Budgam and the Court seeking compensation on the basis of sale deed executed against such defence land and attestation of mutation thereof, the CBI said.
The agency had registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) into the matter last year during which it claimed to have found evidences that No Objection Certificates (NOCs) were granted to private persons for this prime and strategic piece of land arbitrarily.
Ministry of Defence owns 17.53 lakh acres of land, out of which approximately 1.57 lakh acres is situated within the 62 notified cantonments and about 15.96 lakh acres is outside these cantonments.
According to an agency report, a CBI team today raided the residence of suspended CEO of Ambala Cantonment Board Ajay Choudhary in connection with the J&K multi-crore land scam.
The CBI team comprising officials from Delhi and Chandigarh reached the bungalow of Ajay Choudhary at Staff road this morning.
Later, the CBI took Choudhary in a vehicle but it was not immediately known whether he was detained for questioning or had been arrested.
Choudhary, whose name had figured in the land scam during his stint as Defence Estate Officer in Srinagar, was suspended for his alleged involvement in the scam in which costly land was disposed of to some private party in violation of rules.
Chaudhary was transferred to Ambala in April 2010 from Srinagar.
According to sources, about 200 acres of military land near Srinagar International Airport was sold to property dealers and some local people after the Defence Estate Office had issued NOC for the land in connivance with Revenue Department officials. The land was valued in hundreds of crores of rupees. A CBI team was engaged in working out exact cost of the scam.
The State Government has not initiated any action against the Revenue Department officials so far.
Sources said the CBI has prepared a detailed list of Revenue officials, property dealers and local people, who had purchased the land, in the scam. The CBI would be initiating action against them shortly by summoning them for questioning. They added that without the connivance of Revenue officials, the military land couldn’t have been converted into private land and sold to property dealers and private persons for raising constructions.
The Defence Estate Office of the Ministry of Defence had facilitated the scam by issuing NOC of military land in favour of property dealers and private persons. The land was very prime as it was located just adjacent to Srinagar International Airport.
Sources confirmed that the CBI raids at all four places at the residences of the officials then posted in Srinagar has fetched important documents and other material pertaining to scam, which involved establishment of the officials in the multi-crore scam.
The BJP’s Anti-Scams Committee led by MP Kirit Somaiya and J&K Co-ordinator Dr Jitendera Singh had first unearthed the scam and submitted all documents along with a detailed report prepared by them after visiting the spot to Defence Minister A K Antony.
The Defence Ministry had first studied the report at its own level, got the matter inquired and formally handed over the case to the CBI for detailed investigations. Sources said the CBI after holding thorough probe into the scam carried out simultaneous raids today.
Sources said the CBI had also conducted enquiry into the records of the Directorate General of Defence Estates and the local revenue, following a request from the Defence Ministry to probe the sanction of the NoC for sale of this land in Srinagar.
Defence Minister A K Antony had last year informed Parliament that on receipt of complaint, a preliminary enquiry was conducted during which it was found that prima-facie there have been irregularities in the issuance of NOCs which may have wider implications.
According to the probe report of the Defence Ministry, some of the land belonging to defence remains in the name of private persons or State Government in revenue records, which is a cause of concern as a few persons may take advantage… and enter into fraudulent sale/purchase transaction.
The Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) looks after the land for training, ranges, depots, airfields, quartering, camping and offices for military activities.
Ministry of Defence owns 17.53 lakh acres of land, out of which approximately 1.57 lakh acres is situated within the 62 notified cantonments and about 15.96 lakh acres is outside these cantonments.
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