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Written by Deeptiman Tiwary
, Arun Sharma
| Jammu, New Delhi |
Updated: November 26, 2020 2:21:50 am
The new lists also mention some police officers, former bureaucrats and journalists.A day after the J&K administration alleged that Farooq and Omar Abdullah had encroached upon public land in Jammu, and listed offices of the NC as Roshni Act beneficiaries, two new lists released on Wednesday mention the office of PDP in Jammu and its leader Talib Chaudhary among alleged encroachers.
The new lists also mention some police officers, former bureaucrats and journalists.
According to a probe by the UT administration, former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti’s party office allegedly sits on encroached land, measuring 3 kanal, in Sunjwan, Jammu. “The land is suspected to have been encroached when Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was CM,” an official said.
PDP spokesperson Firdous Tak called the allegation a “blatant lie’’, and said the party has only one office in Jammu – a rented accommodation in Gandhi Nagar.
The administration had earlier mentioned former PDP leader Haseeb Drabu and three of his relatives as alleged beneficiaries of Roshni Act, besides Congress treasurer K K Amla and four NC leaders. On Tuesday, it had alleged that the residence of Omar and Farooq Abdullah was built on encroached forest land in Sunjwan, Jammu, a charge denied by the party.
Some of the prominent names mentioned in the list of Jammu include retired SSP Mirza Rasheed, retired IGP Nisar Ali, Zehan Din, a relative of former Congress minister Aijaz Khan; and businessman Haji Sultan Ali.
Bansi lal, who runs the ‘Early Times’ newspaper and Mahant Manjeet Singh, trustee of Digiana Ashram in Jammu, have also been mentioned as alleged beneficiaries.
The list from Srinagar mentions 11 NRI businessmen and the family of former IAS officer Farooq Ahmed Shah among alleged beneficiaries. Handloom and clothing businessmen Imtiyaz Ahmed Shah and Vishal Khanna are also part of the list, as are politically connected families of Rahim and Zahida Naqshbandi.
“This is fraud; there is no PDP office,’’ Tak said. “This speaks volumes about the intentions of people framing the list to defame particular regional organizations.”
Aijaz Khan refused to comment; Nasir Ali and Talib Choudhary could not be contacted.
Sources close to Mahant Manjit Singh said the land in question fell within the premises of Mahant Bachiter Singh College of Engineering and Technology, spread over 100 kanals. The college is run by a philanthropic Trust – Mahant Manjit Singh Trust – and since the legally legislated government scheme of that time was available, the Trust got this piece of land transferred in its name.
Gupta said when he took the land in 1990 he was not aware that it was state land. He said he paid the “entire amount of Rs 91.81 lakh in 2008, and did not avail any rebate”.
Farooq Abdullah must be booked for cheating: Anurag Thakur
Jammu: Union Minister Anurag Thakur Wednesday demanded registration of a case against former Chief Minister and National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah for “cheating, forgery and encroachment of public property’’.
“Nobody is above the law,’’ he said at a rally at Akhnoor while canvassing for candidates for the District Development Council elections in Jammu and Kashmir that begin on November 28.
He claimed that “beneficiaries of Roshni scam were former ministers of Gupkar gang, Congress and their relatives…” —ENS