Crime Branch files chargesheet against businessman and retired revenue officers in major land-fraud case
Retired naib tehsildar, ex-patwari and businessman booked for manipulating revenue records
Srinagar, Dec 4: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch Jammu and Kashmir has filed a comprehensive chargesheet in a high-profile land-fraud case involving a businessman and two retired officers of the Revenue Department. The chargesheet was submitted before the Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Srinagar, officials said on Thursday.
The case, registered in 2022 under multiple sections of the Ranbir Penal Code, read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, pertains to the fraudulent transfer of a piece of land located at Zoonimar in the Eidgah area of Srinagar.
According to officials, the chargesheet has been filed against:
• Habibullah Bhat, businessman, resident of Umarhair Buchpora
• Mohammad Rajab Reshi, retired Naib Tehsildar, resident of Brein Nishat
• Syed Khurshid Ahmad, then Patwari, resident of Lar in Ganderbal
The case originated from a detailed written complaint alleging that the accused had engineered the illegal mutation of 10 marlas of land in favour of Bhat on the false pretext of a registered sale deed. The complainant alleged that revenue officials colluded to fabricate the ownership transfer.
An inquiry was initiated, and the investigation quickly revealed that no such sale deed had ever been registered by the concerned sub-registrar. This discrepancy triggered a deeper probe into the revenue records related to the property.
During the investigation, Crime Branch officers uncovered a criminal conspiracy between the beneficiary businessman and the two revenue officials. Evidence showed that they manipulated official records and fraudulently created mutation entries despite the absence of any legally valid ownership document. Statements of witnesses, official registry checks, and forensic scrutiny of revenue documents further strengthened the findings.
Officials said the collected evidence has prima facie established their involvement in offences relating to cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and corruption. On this basis, a formal chargesheet has been filed for judicial consideration.
The case will now proceed to trial, with the court set to evaluate the depth of evidence and determine accountability for the fraudulent land transfer.
