The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Jammu and Kashmir has registered a case against former Managing Director (MD) of the J&K Cooperative Housing Corporation (J&K CHC), and several other individuals, for their alleged involvement in the illegal allotment of the state land.J
Bharat Bhushan Sharma, the then MD of J&K CHC and others were booked after a preliminary enquiry (PE) conducted by ACB revealed that despite purchasing 392 kanals of private land for a housing colony at Village Bain Bajalta, District Jammu, the Corporation illegally occupied 584 kanals of land, including a state land, in collision with officials from the Revenue Department, an ACB official said.
He said the inquiry found that the Corporation had wrongfully occupied 111 kanal and 17 marlas of state land and 100 kanal and 15 marlas of land under Khasra numbers 16 min, 17 min, 219 min, and 573/34 min, which were vested with proprietary rights under the J&K Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976.
“The land was allotted for the housing colony despite the violations,” he said.
According to him, several officials, including Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Shesh Paul Salgotra, former Tehsildar Jammu, Sanjay Badyal, former Tehsildar Jammu, Mahesh Chander, former Naib Tehsildar Sidhra, and others, allegedly conspired to transfer land rights for the housing project, bypassing Government rules and misrepresenting facts.
This resulted in undue benefits to the corporation and beneficiaries, the ACB official said. “The case involved multiple offences under the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act and various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). As such an FIR (Number 02/2025) has been filed at the ACB Police Station, and the investigation taken up,” he said.
