Dharamsala, October 3
The state vigilance bureau has booked BJP MP Anurag Thakur and his brother Arun Singh in a land case and registered an FIR against Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association officials for damaging public property and encroaching government land.

Anurag and Arun, sons of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, have been accused of conspiring and illegally buying a 32-marla plot near Kala Pul in Dharamsala from a poor villager and making him landless. While Anurag has been named as the owner of the land in question, Arun holds the power of attorney.

SP vigilance, Bimal Gupta, said during the investigation it was found that the land had been bought illegally. The directions to register the case were received from the state vigilance headquarters, he said. The case has been registered under Sections 420, 120-B, 188 of the IPC and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the FIR, it is said that Premu, a landless resident of Kajlot village, was allotted 32 marla land by the state government in December 1992 under the HP village Common Land Vesting and Utilisation Scheme-1972.

Under the scheme, the allottee could not sell land for 10 years. The scheme was amended in 1987 by the state government and the lock-in period for selling of land was increased to 20 years. The allottee also could not sell land in case he was becoming landless or till his wife was alive.

According to the FIR, the mutation of land, in the name of Premu, was affected on 20/06/1993. During the mutation, the then tehsildar entered a note in revenue record that Premu could not sell land for a period of 15 years. Anurag, however, purchased the land from Premu in January 2008 after a time period of 14 years and 6 months. The land was bought for Rs 7 lakh.

Vigilance officials are alleging criminal conspiracy on the part of purchaser (Anurag Thakur) and revenue officials in buying land illegally and making a poor person landless. The seller, Premu, is now no more. Vigilance officials, pleading anonymity, said six to seven revenue officials, up to the rank of tehsildar, might be involved in the case.

In the other case, the HPCA has been accused of encroaching upon a 720 sq m land of the sports and youth services department. A case has been registered under Section 447 and 120-B of the IPC, Prevention of Damage to Public Property and Section 13-C of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the HPCA and other government officials.

The encroached portion is allegedly located near the main gate of the HPCA stadium at Dharamsala. The land on which the stadium was built belonged to the education department. It was initially transferred in the name of the sports department and then given to the HPCA on lease.

The land was not transferred to the HPCA as it had residential facility for the staff of the government college. The FIR says the HPCA conspired with some officials and got the residential facility demolished and subsequently encroached upon the land. a“We’ve checked records at the Kangra Deputy Commissioner’s office. No record has been found in which the government had either allowed the demolition of the residential facility for the college staff or allotted the land in question to the HPCA,” said the SP. 

* Anurag (left) and Arun, sons of former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, have been accused of conspiring and illegally buying a 32-marla plot near Kala Pul in Dharamsala from a poor villager and making him landless