IT raid at residence of property dealer in Udhampur
Jammu: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday launched multiple raids across Jammu in connection with a money laundering investigation into alleged illegal grabbing of custodian land.
The searches, which began early in the morning around 6:45 am, were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at several locations, including Domana and Garota Chinore.
Sources said that at least nine premises in Jammu and one in Udhampur came under the scanner of the ED teams, which were assisted by local police during the operation.
Residences of several individuals, including revenue officials, were searched as part of the probe. Among those under scrutiny are Patwari-rank officials Pranav Dev Singh and Rahul Kai and Naib Tehsildar Akeel Ahmed, who are accused of facilitating land transfers in violation of rules. The raids also covered the houses of private individuals suspected of being beneficiaries of the alleged illegal transactions.
The case relates to custodian land—properties belonging to people who migrated from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir during partition—which was placed under the control of the Custodian Department. Investigators allege that portions of this land were illegally transferred and sold in recent years with the connivance of revenue officials.
The money laundering probe stems from an FIR registered in 2022 by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (Central) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which had flagged large-scale irregularities and corruption in land dealings. Since then, the ED has been tracking the financial trail of the transactions and identifying those who allegedly benefitted from the illegal deals.
Officials said the raids were still in progress and documents related to property ownership, land transfers and financial transactions have been seized. The situation in all areas where the searches were carried out remained normal, they added.
Meanwhile, a team of the Income Tax Department conducted raid at the residence of a property dealer in Udhampur’s Housing Colony.
According to the sources, the Income Tax team, led by an Assistant Director rank officer, conducted the raid following reports of suspected tax evasion and possession of undisclosed income by the said property dealer.
During the raid, officials searched premises and seized some documents, sources added.
After the raid, the Income Tax Department will assess the seized documents and assets to determine any tax liability.
