SRINAGAR, July 17, 2025 : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday conducted searches at seven locations in Srinagar and Budgam districts in connection with a land fraud case involving two revenue officials and five others.
The searches, carried out on the basis of court-issued warrants, relate to a case of corruption, cheating, and manipulation of revenue records to unlawfully benefit a private individual, according to an EOW spokesperson.
Those under investigation include then Tehsildar of Balhama, Nusrat Aziz Lone, and Patwari Ashiq Ali, who allegedly made fraudulent insertions in revenue records in connivance with Mohammed Shafi Lone alias Shafi Cheeni and others.
The case was registered after a complainant alleged that he paid ₹88.4 lakh and transferred two kanals of land at Gooripora Rawalpora to Shafi Cheeni in exchange for land in Balhama. However, the sale deeds were tampered with, with Khasra numbers altered to manipulate ownership.
The investigation revealed that false mutations were later inserted into official records to benefit Rayaz Ahmad Bhat, who subsequently sold land he didn’t legally own. It was also alleged that Bhat has forcibly occupied 2.5 kanals of the Balhama land.
The spokesperson added that Tehsildar Lone and others are also facing charges in a separate corruption case registered in 2021.
