Avinash Azad
In a startling development that has intensified suspicions over an ongoing land scam in Jammu, a controversial order assigning additional charge of Patwar Halqa Bain Bajalta—currently under ACB investigation—was issued by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Jammu Rakesh Kumar on the very day he was relieved from his post by the J&K government.
The move has sparked serious concerns over administrative integrity and possible collusion with powerful land mafia interests in the region. As per Order No. DCJ(Adm) 60 of 2025, dated June 2, 2025, ADC Rakesh Kumar handed over additional charge of Patwar Halqa Bain Bajalta, Tehsil Jammu, to Nakul Kumar, Patwari of Halqa Nagrota, Tehsil Nagrota. The post became vacant after the suspension of Fateh Ali, Patwari Bain Bajalta, by the Deputy Commissioner on May 28, 2025, amid a high-stakes Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe into land record manipulation.
Ironically, the same officer who issued the order—Rakesh Kumar, IAS—was relieved by the J&K Government via Order No. 665-JK(GAD) of 2025, also dated June 2, 2025, following a communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs (No. 15041/05/2023-UTs, dated May 16, 2025). His transfer and repatriation to his parent cadre raises serious questions over the timing and legitimacy of the administrative decision taken hours before his departure.
“This is not a routine file movement. The officer was relieved on the same day, yet he issued a posting order in a highly sensitive matter under ACB investigation. It begs the question: was this a last-minute attempt to influence the case before leaving office?” a senior officer in the Revenue Department asked while speaking to The Hidden News on condition of anonymity.
Sources close to the investigation revealed that the demarcation drive currently underway in village Chak Rakwal of Nagrota had exposed serious allegations of Latha tampering—an illegal manipulation of official land maps—that reportedly transferred hundreds of kanals of prime state land to a well-connected individual.
“Assigning the additional charge to a Patwari from Nagrota, the same tehsil under probe, raises an unmistakable red flag. Instead of appointing a neutral official from Tehsil Jammu, the administration opted for someone possibly linked to the zone where records were allegedly forged,” a source close to the ACB investigation said.
Public outrage is mounting over the decision, especially as Bain Bajalta has become emblematic of unchecked land grabbing. Locals allege that a politically influential family that purchased 320 kanals of land in 1998 now claims ownership of thousands of kanals—including government, forest, JDA, and private lands.
The matter had previously echoed in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, where Jammu East MLA Yudhvir Sethi accused a former MLC’s family of encroaching on massive tracts of land in the area. “Despite the ACB probe and clear conflict of interest, the administration appears to be shielding vested interests. Why else would an outgoing officer rush through a sensitive order on his last day?” a senior revenue officer said, calling for immediate rollback and independent scrutiny of the posting.
With the ACB continuing its demarcation drive, the episode has reignited the public’s demand for administrative accountability and intensified pressure on the government to prove its resolve in dismantling Jammu’s deep-rooted land mafia network.
