Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 14: Crime Branch Jammu has booked several officials of Jammu Municipal Corporation and Revenue Department besides others for illegal mutation of land.
An FIR in this regard has been registered against R K Thusu the then Executive Officer JMC, Surinder Kumar Sharma, the then Sr Town Planner Jammu Municipality, Subash Chander Patwari Halqa Rakh Raipur, Jammu, Shanti Saroop Gupta, the then Tehsildar Jammu and other officers/officials of Jammu Municipality/Revenue Department besides Ashok Kumar, Gagan Kumar, Ramesh Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, all sons of Late Ved Prakash Sawhney of Rakh Raipur, Vikram Chowk, Jammu, Sunny Sawhney son of Late Girish Sawhney and Alka Sawhney wife of Late Girish Sawhney.
The case was registered on the complaint by Secretary Municipal Corporation, Jammu. who explained that one Fami Chand Sawhney was allotted by the Military Department (Cantonment Board) Qtr. No 4, 5 & 6 measuring 538 sft, 180 sft. and 220 sft., as well as two pieces of open land measuring 3 kanal and 36 sft situated at Rakh Raipur, Vikram Chowk across Tawi Bridge, Jammu. The premises came to be transferred by the Military Department (Cantonment Board) to Jammu Municipality during sixties. However, Ved Prakash son of Fami Chand occupied and constructed illegal shops/khokhas over the said land without the permission from the Municipality, thereby violating the agreement of lease executed between him and the Municipality, which was subsequently cancelled by the Municipality in the year 1973 through a resolution. Later the allotment was also cancelled in the year 1987 by the Municipality after affording an opportunity to Ved Prakash of being heard. Ved Prakash challenged the order of cancellation of his allotment before the J&K Special Tribunal which was dismissed and thereafter he approached the High Court but his petition was dismissed and order of eviction was passed by the High Court on 10.03.1997. However, the order of eviction was not implemented on ground and the land in question, being the Municipality land, was illegally mutated by Tehsildar Jammu in his favour on 05.01.2005. After getting the land illegally and fraudulently mutated, three members of the family of Ved Prakash namely Alka Sawhney, Gagan Sawhney and Dinesh Sawhney managed the building permission from Building Operation Controlling Authority (BOCA) but the same was subsequently withdrawn on the ground that Ved Prakash was not the owner of Municipal land and that the land was fraudulently mutated.
During the course of enquiry, it was found that the land in question was state land and despite the orders of eviction passed by the High Court, the illegal occupants connived with the then Executive Officer Jammu Municipality R K Thusu, Surinder Kumar Sharma, Sr Town Planner and Khilafwarzi Inspector Jammu Municipality (now JMC) who facilitated the illegal and fraudulent mutation of land/premises through Subash Chander, Patwari Halqa Rakh Raipur, Jammu, Shanti Saroop Gupta, the then Tehsildar Jammu in favour of beneficiaries thus committing fraud by abuse of their official positions.
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