Five irrigation officials among nine chargesheeted for encroaching govt land in Jammu

Crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday filed a chargesheet against nine persons, including five former officials of the irrigation department.

Jammu: Crime branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday filed a chargesheet against nine persons, including five former officials of the irrigation department, for alleged encroaching of a piece of state land here, and constructing a building and setting up a petrol pump on it.

The Economic Offences Wing of Crime Branch Jammu filed the chargesheet in a court under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act, a spokesperson of the agency said.

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The nine accused were named in an FIR registered in 2016, the spokesperson said.

The five former officials of irrigation department’s Akhnoor division are identified as former executive engineer Jai Paul, former assistant executive engineer Ashok Nanda, Krishan Lal, Baldev Singh and Randeep Singh. All five were part of the irrigation department when the alleged encroachment is said to have taken place.

Chargesheet has also been filed against alleged beneficiaries of the encroached land, Swarn Singh and his son Manjeet Singh, Guldev Raj and Jagat Ram (now dead).

The spokesperson said a written complaint was lodged by one Aman Choudhary alleging that Manjeet and his father Swarn of Jourian area of Jammu have constructed a building on land belonging to the irrigation department after encroaching it in active connivance with concerned officials.

The building was then given to a bank on rent while another petrol pump was set up on 11 marlas of state land, he alleged.

The complainant also alleged that the accused had managed to obtain a fake and fraudulent title over the land with intention to cause wrongful loss to the state.

A preliminary verification was initiated following the complaint with prior approval of J&K’s crime branch headquarters and during the course of the probe, the allegations were prima facie established leading to the registration of a formal case, the spokesperson said.

During the investigation, documentary and oral evidence were collected, together with the circumstantial evidence, he said.