Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 11: The State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) has decided to register multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) in multi crore Roshni land scam even as it has directed five Deputy Commissioners to expedite submission of entire record pertaining to regularization of land under Roshni to the investigating agency.
Official sources told the Excelsior that a number of officers especially that of Revenue Department were likely to be named in the FIRs along with the beneficiaries. The Vigilance Organisation would, however, first report to the State Vigilance Commission (SVC) on details of investigations as it was the Commission, which had handed over the case to the SVO.
Sources said the Vigilance Organisation has asked the Deputy Commissioners of Jammu, Samba and Udhampur in Jammu region and Srinagar and Budgam in Kashmir region to expedite submission of entire record pertaining to regularization of land under the Roshni Act.
“We have received some of the record from the Deputy Commissioners while bulk of the record is awaited. Samba is the only district in Jammu from where majority of record has been received. We are awaiting complete record from the districts before deputing teams for on spot verifications to confirm gravity of the scam,’’ sources said.
Admitting that preliminary scrutiny of the record did point out some irregularities in regularization of land under Roshni Act, sources said it would be premature to comment on gravity of the scam.
However, they disclosed that the Vigilance Organisation would register multiple FIRs as nature of the offences varied in different districts. “Some offences of similar nature having taken place in one area could be clubbed,’’ they said.
The Vigilance Organisation has constituted three Special Investigating Teams (SITs) to investigate the team. The team for Jammu-Samba districts is headed by SSP Vigilance Organisation Rupinder Chalotra while team for Udhampur district is headed by SSP Yasin Kitchloo. The team investigating the cases of Srinagar and Budgam districts was led by SSP Srinagar Mr Punnu.
Sources said the preliminary investigations have revealed that the senior officers, who were at the helm of affairs in the districts when undeserving cases were regularized under the Roshni Act, would be unable to escape responsibility of the scam and could be booked in the FIRs.
“The officers can’t escape the responsibility. The officers, who regularized undeserving land in favour of beneficiaries, were more responsible than the persons, who benefited,’’ sources said, adding that they were also studying the Roshni Act thoroughly especially one of its clause that an act done in good faith wouldn’t amount to criminality.
Sources said the special teams constituted by the Vigilance Organisation would conduct their own on-spot verification on regularization of land to confirm whether an illegal act had been made out in the deal or not. “‘The FIR would be lodged only on the basis of spot verification conducted by the Vigilance Organisation teams,’’ they added but confirmed that preliminary scrutiny of the record available from five districts have indicated that multiple FIRs in the scam were in the offing.
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