Srinagar~ The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch Kashmir on Friday arrested a former Patwari who had been absconding for more than three months in connection with a major land fraud racket involving tampering of revenue records and illegal transfer of prime land in Srinagar and Budgam.

The accused, Ashiq Ali, originally from Panner Jagir and currently residing in Hawal, Srinagar, was wanted in FIR No. 14/2025 registered under Sections 167, 420, 120-B RPC and Section 5(2) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, relating to corruption, cheating, false mutations and wrongful insertions in land records.

Despite multiple attempts to trace him after the registration of the case on July 9, 2025, Ali had managed to evade the law until a special EOW team-acting on specific inputs-finally apprehended him. His bail plea had already been rejected by court.

Scam Spanned Districts, Involved Organised Network

The FIR names seven accused, including two revenue officials, who allegedly used forged entries and manipulated Khasra numbers to fraudulently transfer valuable land.

Earlier arrests in the case include:

• Riyaz Ahmad Bhat (Nowgam, Srinagar), Mohammad Shafi Lone alias Shafi Cheeni (Peerbagh, Srinagar), Shahnawaz Ahmad Rather (Padshahi Bagh, Srinagar), Shabir Ahmad Wani (Bagandar, Lasjan)

Investigators say the racket caused both significant financial loss and public distress as legitimate landowners were displaced through forged documentation.

Tehsildar Still Missing, Multiple Cases Pending

Three accused had been on the run: Nusrat Aziz, then Tehsildar Balhama; Ashiq Ali, then Patwari Balhama (now arrested); Shamima Akhter, wife of accused Shafi Lone

Officials confirmed that Tehsildar Aziz is also implicated in four other corruption cases, including two each with Crime Branch and ACB.

The syndicate is said to be part of a systemic corruption pattern, as several accused are also booked earlier under FIR No. 08/2021, which is nearing completion.

Complaint That Blew Open the Racket

The fraud came to light after a woman reported she had purchased over 5 kanals of land for ₹88.4 lakh and exchanged two more kanals at Gooripora. However, the mutated Khasra numbers were tampered with, enabling accused Riyaz Bhat to falsely claim ownership and resell part of the property.

Preliminary findings show false entries were inserted by Tehsildar Nusrat Aziz and Patwari Ashiq Ali to illegally benefit Bhat, who had no lawful rights to the land.

EOW Vows to Dig Deeper into Revenue Corruption

The Crime Branch stated that aggressive efforts are underway to track down the remaining absconders and dismantle the network.

“We remain committed to transparency and accountability in public administration and will continue our drive against corruption and economic offences in J&K,” - Crime Branch Kashmir spokesperson

With the latest arrest, officials believe the probe has entered a decisive phase, marking one of the sternest crackdowns on revenue-related corruption in recent years.

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