Over 100-years old widow of an army martyr exposed misuse of government land allotted in the name of retired army personnel quota. The matter came to the fore during an enquiry by Station Information Commissioner (SIC), Hafiz Usmani. The accused, who forged service certificate had grabbed 25 acres of land reportedly with the help of officials of district Rampur collectrate. The accused is illegally occupying the land now for almost five decades and had also taken huge loans against the land with the help of local officials.
Surprisingly, even after the forgery was exposed, the officials took no cognizance in the matter. Now, Usmani, directed divisional commissioner of Meerut, to probe the entire matter and initiate legal proceedings not just against the accused, but also against the officials who connived to facilitate illegal allotment and later also closed their eyes towards the forgery. Reports said that in 1967, one Sohan Singh, submitted forged documents of his retirement from lance Naik post from Jat Regiment in Bareilly and got 25 acres of land allotted in Pasiyapur hamlet of Aliganj in Bilaspur Thesil of Rampur.
The land was allotted under the government’s (Grant Act Scheme) through which retired army personnel were allotted government lands for farming purposes. The illegal move of Sohan Singh, came in the knowledge of one Gurbachan Kaur, aged over 100-years and lived in the same village. Gurbachan, who is widow of a army martyr, tried to expose the forgery so she knocked the door of the government officials several times but no one listen to her complaints. Interestingly, when Gurbachan had informed the truth to officials, the same persons gave no-objection certificates (NOC) to the accused who took huge loan against the same government land from banks.
Reports further said that Gurbachan not lost her courage and in 2011, she filed a complaint under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in the district magistrate Rampur’s office seeking discharge certificate of Sohan Singh, the document through which the accused got government land allotted in his name. However, once again the woman kept taking round of the collectrate office but one listen to her complaint. Finally in October last year, the old lady came to lucknow and made a complaint informing SIC, Hafiz Usmani, about the dubious conduct of the officials of Rampur collectrate.
Usmani claimed that after he learnt the truth, he summoned the ADM (District Retired Armymen Welfare and Rehabilitation Officer), and asked him to submit a reply on the matter. Usmani said that he was shocked to learn that the officials at Rampur DM office had already verified the facts of the above discharge certificates submitted by Sohan Singh, and the Jat Regiment in Bareilly, had confirmed to the DM that no one in the name of Sohan Singh (No-11124802) had even worked in the army and that the discharge document was fake. Usmani claimed that even after this report of Jat Regiment, the officials at Rampur collectrate dumped that report under the carpets which pointed their connivance into the entire forgery. Usmani claimed that now to expose the entire syndicate working at Rampur DM’s office as well as to get the government land vacated from the accused possession, he directed divisional commissioner of Moradabad to probe the matter and submit Action Taken Report within one month. He claimed once the report would be submitted, he will get criminal case lodged against all the accused and would get them arrested besides recommending departmental proceedings.