State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) sleuths in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir have found certain revenue officials committing abuse of power by preparing fraudulent documents showing a dead woman gifting a piece of land to the wife of an employee accused of possessing disproportionate assets.
The SVO sleuths unearthed the act while probing a complaint against Junior Assistant in Bandipora Municipal Committee, Javed Ahmad Shah, who was accused of having acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
According to SVO spokesman, Shah in connivance with some revenue officials had made entry of an oral gift deed in favour of his wife in the revenue records to evade stamp duty.
"Verification conducted by SVO into the allegations regarding acquisition of disproportionate assets by Shah revealed that the officials of revenue department, Bandipora, have by way of abuse of their official position hatched conspiracy with Shah's wife Nazia Hassan of Papchan Bandipora in 2010-11 and prepared a fraudulent and illegal gift deed.
"A land measuring one kanal and 18 marlas (10,345.5 square feet) purchased from one Ghulam Rasool Sheikh for an amount of Rs 29 lakhs has been shown transferred by way of oral gift from Sheikh's mother Ashmi to Hassan vide mutation No 348 dated April 25, 1999. The fact of the matter is that Ashmi had died some 25 years ago," the spokesman said.
He said the two parties resorted to the practice to avoid the stamp duty and have thus conferred pecuniary advantage to themselves and corresponding loss to the state exchequer to the tune of Rs 1.75 lakh.
"The omissions and commissions on the part of the guilty public servants attracts offences punishable under various sections of prevention of Corruption Act and Ranbir Panel Code," he said.
A case under anti-corruption law has been registered against the concerned revenue officials, the spokesman added.
