The CBI has registered a case of graft, cheating and criminal conspiracy against two former CEOs and a junior engineer of Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar and three private persons for alleged encroachment of defence land worth crores of rupees by hotel owners in the sensitive cantonment area in the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir.
The agency has booked then Chief Executive Officers of the Cantonment Ajay Kumar Choudhary and B K Kaul, Junior Engineer Tariq Ahmad Khanday, Tramboo Joinery Mills owner Muzaffar Rashid Wani, owner of an under construction hotel Tariq Ahmad Wani and owner of Soloman Heights hotel Muneer Ahmad Bakshi, reads the FIR registered on Friday.
The agency had registered a Preliminary Enquiry in the case on November 27, 2018 which revealed that officials of the cantonment board allegedly facilitated the hotel and mill owners in grabbing defence land.
The PE established that Hotel Solomon Heights, under-construction hotel of Tariq Ahmad Wani and Tramboo Joinery Mills were standing on defence land, reads the FIR.
Their lease deed had expired and further lease deed was executed without permission of defence authorities, which was illegal and unauthorised, according to the findings of the PE.
"The concerned JE and CEOs submitted false report being fully aware about the status of land and facilitated the accused private persons to obtain permission from the board on the defence land by putting the status of land as private in Tramboo Joinery Mills," the CBI alleged.
The FIR accused Kaul (now retired), Chaudhary and Khandey of entering into criminal conspiracy to facilitate illegal occupants, causing huge loss to the defence ministry.
The CBI alleged that land measuring 11 kanals and nine marla was given on a 20-year lease by the defence authority to Indraj Sharma from 1954 to 1974. Sharma allegedly leased out the land to one Abdul Majid Bakshi in 1960 on which Hotel Solomon Heights was constructed.
"The value of the said land is in crores as it is on the highway at Sonwar area in Srinagar which is very posh and a secure location in Srinagar. It is presently occupied by Muneer Ahmad Bakshi, son of A M Bakshi, and was constructed on defence land and its lease already stands expired," the FIR alleged.
In the case of the under construction hotel, the agency alleged that Durganag Trust president P N Takoo illegally leased out the land to Tariq Ahmad Wani.
The preliminary inquiry found that the lease of the Trust through Takoo had already expired, ruling out any question of further lease to Wani, but the officials did not stop fresh construction, facilitating the illegal occupation.