‘L-G seeks action against fourth official; govt. to reclaim illegally sold land, raze constructions, if any’
‘L-G seeks action against fourth official; govt. to reclaim illegally sold land, raze constructions, if any’
A day after two Sub-Divisional Magistrates and a deputy secretary posted at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office were suspended on Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s directions, sources claimed that the three officials were part of a land scam in outer Delhi.
According to sources, Mr. Saxena has recommended to the Ministry of Home Affairs the suspension of another official — Nagender Shekhar Pati Tripathi, posted as an Additional District Magistrate — for his links to the scam, which revolves around the sale of a Central government land to private individuals between 2015 and June 2021.
All the four officials had, while occupying the office of SDM, Alipur, over the years, allegedly engaged in illegal sale of small parcels of land whose original owner had migrated to Pakistan during Partition, the sources said.
The four officials — Harshit Jain, DANICS, Prakash Chand Thakur, ad hoc DANICS, Nagender Shekhar Pati Triapthi, DANICS, and Devender Sharma, ad hoc DANICS — had, during their tenure as SDM, Alipur, passed orders giving away ownership of government land “in criminal connivance with private individuals or entities” for apparent “pecuniary benefits in return”.
“While Devender Sharma gave bhumidari [land ownership] rights on the government land in separate orders on a single day in June 2015, Prakash Chand Thakur gave away the land rights in June 2019,” a source said.
“The process continued with Nagender Shekhar Pati Tripathi giving away bhumidari rights of the land in separate orders in November 2019 and Harshit Jain doing the same in June 2021,” the source added.
‘Owner migrated to Pak.’
All these land parcels, according to a source, belonged to a man named Karmu and were located in Jhangola village in North Delhi district. The land was declared “evacuee property” after his migration to Pakistan and its ownership was legally vested in the Central government.
“While suspension orders of Sharma, Thakur and Jain were issued on June 21, the L-G has recommended the suspension of Tripathi, who is a selection-grade officer, to the MHA, which is the competent authority in his case,” the source said.
According to sources, action against more government officials who were part of these “deals” will follow over the coming days. The government will also reclaim the land, which has been illegally sold to private entities, and any illegal construction there will be demolished, said the sources.
On Wednesday, disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against Mr. Thakur, posted as a deputy secretary in the Delhi CMO, Mr. Jain, SDM, Vasant Vihar, and Mr. Sharma, SDM, VIvek Vihar, on charges of “corruption and non-probity” in their functioning. The complaint against Mr. Thakur, a source said, pertained to his previous posting and was not related to his present position in the CMO.
Sources said the officials were placed under suspension before completion of inquiries into the allegations against them in line with the L-G’s “commitment to zero tolerance towards corruption and ensuring probity in the functioning of the government”.
