The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch Kashmir conducted searches on Thursday at multiple locations across Srinagar and Budgam Districts in Jammu and Kashmir. These searches are connected to an FIR filed against seven individuals, including a Tehsildar, for alleged corruption, cheating, false mutations, and wrongful entries in Revenue records.
Sources indicate that the EOW initiated an investigation after receiving a complaint from an individual who had purchased 5 Kanals and 4 Marlas of land in Balhama from Mohammad Shafi Lone (also known as Shafi Cheeni) for Rs. 17 lakhs per Kanal, totaling Rs. 88,40,000. The complainant also exchanged 2 Kanals of land in Gooripora Rawalpora with the accused, which the accused later sold.
The complainant alleged that after handing over the sale deeds to the accused for updates, they were returned with altered Khasra numbers. Specifically, Khasra numbers 314, 315 were changed to 290, 325 to 316, and 312, 324 min and 290 were changed to 290. Despite the land being in the complainant’s possession, another individual forcibly occupied 2 Kanals and 10 Marlas, claiming to have purchased it from Rayaz Ahmad Bhat.
The EOW’s preliminary investigation revealed that the accused individuals, in collusion with Revenue officers, deceived the complainant by inserting incorrect survey numbers into the sale deeds. The probe also uncovered that the then Tehsildar Balhama, Nusrat Aziz, and the then Patwari, Ashiq Ali, subsequently made false mutations in the Revenue records. These actions were allegedly taken to illegally benefit Riyaz Ahmad Bhat, who sold land he did not own.
