The Himachal Pradesh Vigilance Bureau has registered a fraud case against six individuals, including the incumbent Dalhousie Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM), for allegedly manipulating land records and causing revenue losses to the state government. The case, filed at Sadar Police Station in Chamba, revolves around irregularities in land mutation and stamp duty evasion.
The matter came to light after a local woman, Hemlata, wife of DK Sharda, lodged a complaint with the Vigilance Bureau, claiming she had been wronged in a land transaction. Following an inquiry, investigators found evidence of illegal land mutations, leading to the registration of an FIR.
According to the complaint, Hansraj, a resident of Dalhousie, purchased land under Khasra No. 1169 through a sale deed on October 19, 2010. However, when the land mutation was processed on November 11, 2010, it was wrongly recorded under two different khasra numbers, resulting in discrepancies in official records. This error not only altered ownership details but also raised questions about the integrity of the land transaction.
The complainant further alleged that in 2010, the market value of 6.20 hectares of land in Mohal Dalhousie was Rs 52,80,087, which required a stamp duty payment of Rs 2,64,005. Due to the fraudulent mutation, only Rs 1,07,500 was paid, leading to a stamp duty evasion of Rs 1,56,505. This manipulation caused a direct financial loss to the government while unfairly benefiting Hansraj.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) Abhimanyu Verma confirmed that a case has been registered at Chamba Police Station under charges of cheating, forgery of valuable security, forgery for the purpose of cheating, using forged documents, and criminal conspiracy.
The FIR names Hansraj, along with Ajay Kumar, a resident of Pathankot; Avtar Singh from Beli; Rajesh Kumar, who was then serving as a patwari and is now a kanungo; Kailash Chand, who was then a kanungo; and Anil Kumar, who was the tehsildar at the time and now serves as the SDM of Dalhousie. Authorities have stated that further investigations are underway to determine the full extent of the fraud.
