Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir:
In a significant development, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch Kashmir (CBK) has filed a chargesheet against eight individuals, including four government officials, in connection with a major land fraud case. The chargesheet was submitted before the court of the Special Judge Anti-Corruption, Srinagar, under FIR number 23/2019.
The accused include three retired patwaris—Ab Hamid Kathu, Ghulam Jeelani Rather, and Ali Mohammad Dar—all residents of Srinagar. The fourth government official involved is a serving revenue officer, whose identity has not been disclosed. Additionally, Nadeem Ahmad Mayer, the district vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Srinagar, is also among the charged individuals.
The case pertains to illegal occupation and manipulation of land records by misusing official positions. Investigations revealed that Nadeem Ahmad Mayer and Shafiq Ahmad Mayer illegally encroached upon 52 kanals of land at Ehel Danihama by fabricating revenue records. Fake and forged land mutations were allegedly executed under the guise of an oral gift (Hiba Zabani) from the complainant’s uncle, despite no lawful or familial basis. Further, 40 kanals of state land were also found to have been illegally occupied.
The charges against the accused include Sections 420 (cheating), 447-A (criminal trespass), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC), along with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The investigation is ongoing, and further legal proceedings are in progress.