Srinagar, August 6: A case was booked against former Congress minister Taj Mohiuddin and four revenue officials by the State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) today. The case is concerned with illegal transfer of ownership rights of a piece of forest land to the leader in south Kashmir.
Alongwith Mohiudidn, the then Shopian Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ramzan Thakur, the then Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Yosuf Zargar, the then Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Hafizullah Shah and the then Tehsildar Ghulam Hasan Rather have also been named in the FIR registered for corruption under RPC and Prevention of Corruption Act and Ranbir Panel Code.
In June 2007, Rather had placed 190 cases for vesting of ownership rights to the occupants of state land before a committee chaired by M. Ramzan Thakur.
Out of the 190, only 17 cases were approved including 10 Kanals 16 Marlas (about 1.27 acres) of land in Estate Sedow village which was under illegal occupation of the Congress leader.
The said land occupied by the former Congress Minister was basically forest land and belongs to forest department according to the report filed by the SVO.
The then Assistant Commissioner (Revenue) Hafizullah Shah, in August 2007 sought ‘no-objection certificate' from the forest department but it was objected to by the department.
Even as it was common knowledge that the said land belonged to the forest department, the revenue officers concerned called the case ‘disposed off' notwithstanding the objections of the forest department.
“By acting in this manner, Thakur, Zargar, Rather and Shah, misused their official positions by illegally conferring ownership rights upon the beneficiary over the land, the spokesman said, adding a case was registered against them.
