J&K ACB exposes fresh Custodian land scam in Jammu, registers three more FIRs

Jammu, 24-04-2026: The Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau has unearthed yet another major scam involving Custodian land in Jammu district and registered three fresh FIRs, further widening its investigation into what officials described as a deeply entrenched nexus between land grabbers, Form Alaf holders and officers or officials of the Revenue and Custodian departments.

According to officials, the latest development relates to large tracts of Custodian land situated in Asarwan, Mishriwala, Bhalwal and R.S. Pura areas of Jammu district, which were allegedly usurped through fraudulent means. The Anti-Corruption Bureau said the land mafia, in collusion with Form Alaf holders and certain government functionaries, manipulated revenue records and facilitated the illegal transfer and sale of these lands to various individuals.

The bureau said it had initially received inputs suggesting that Custodian land spread over thousands of kanals in these areas had been fraudulently grabbed by land grabbers and gangster elements with the active support of revenue officials. Acting on these inputs, the ACB launched a verification exercise, which earlier revealed that more than 1,000 kanals of Custodian land had been shown as allotted to displaced persons on the basis of fake orders, even though such beneficiaries were not entitled to any additional allotment. The alleged fraud was carried out through fabricated documents and in connivance with officials of the Revenue Department and others.

On the basis of those findings, the ACB had already registered 24 FIRs, and investigations in those cases are still underway. Officials said that during further verification, more irregularities came to light. It was found that certain displaced persons from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied territories had already been allotted land in their favour, but despite this, their relatives and family members, who were not entitled to any such benefit, allegedly managed to get additional land mutated in their names in the R.S. Pura and Domana areas of Jammu district.

The ACB alleged that these additional mutations were attested by concerned patwaris, girdawars, naib tehsildars and tehsildars, either without any government or Provisional Rehabilitation Office order or on the basis of fake and fabricated orders. During verification, it was also found that no such allotment orders had actually been issued by the office of the Provisional Rehabilitation Officer. After securing these illegal mutations, the accused allegedly alienated the land directly or through attorney holders and conduits, thereby causing a substantial loss to the public exchequer.

Officials said the latest verification established a prima facie criminal nexus involving land grabbers, Form Alaf holders and revenue officers or officials in the fraudulent alienation of around 20 kanals and 9 marlas of Custodian land. Following this, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has now registered three more formal FIRs at Police Station ACB Central Jammu and Kashmir for in-depth investigation.

The cases have been registered under provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, along with offences relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and fraud. Among those named in the fresh FIRs are former and serving revenue officials, including patwaris, a naib tehsildar and a tehsildar, along with several private individuals.

The latest action by the ACB indicates that the Custodian land scam in Jammu is broader and more serious than initially believed, with the investigation now pointing towards systematic manipulation of land records, fake allotment orders and organised illegal transfer of public land through official collusion. The registration of three more FIRs is being seen as a significant development in the bureau’s continuing crackdown on corruption and land fraud in the region.