Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 21: Reacting sharply to the arrest of a land broker involved in facilitating the transfer of migrant property worth crores of rupees by forging power of attorney, former MLC and BJP spokesperson, GL Raina reiterated demand for an empowered SIT to look into the large scale cases of fraudulent land grabbing of immovable property of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley.
Encroachment of property of displaced Hindus from Valley over last three decades and increasing land grabbing instances of migrants property in Kashmir makes it necessary to constitute a Special Investigating Team (SIT) and also create a Separate Task Force (STF) to look into the matter and ensure a time bound action plan to evict the encroachers and land grabbers and restore the property to lawful owners, he said.
He said encroachment of immovable property belonging to the displaced community of Hindus in Kashmir Valley is a serious matter. The issue has been raised by the community repeatedly and at all available platforms. The Jammu and Kashmir Migrant Immovable Property (Preservation, Protection and Restraint on Distress Sales) Act 1997; the competent authority is authorised to prepare details of immovable property of the displaced community and take appropriate action including “use such force as is necessary for taking possession of such property” to evict unauthorised occupants of such property, he added.
He said unfortunately the situation on ground is different and victims are forced to visit the Court of Law for redressal of grievances.
He recalled that courts including High Court of J&K have explicitly held on more than one occasion that alienation of migrant property by the act of parties, court order or by a revenue officer without proper permission of the authority is illegal and prohibited under law.
Court has also repeated that the District Magistrate becomes custodian of any migrant property and the same cannot be alienated without the permission and any alienation in violation of the same or without such permission is null and void.
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