MC ex-clerk held for tampering with property papers

Ambala, April 22

The police have arrested Ghasita Ram, a former tax clerk of the Municipal Corporation, on Saturday for misusing his powers and helping land grabbers to dispossess others of their properties by tampering with their documents.

Another former MC official, VB Bhardwaj, has already been arrested in the case.

Ghasita Ram has been sent to three-day police remand.

In 2016, RS Tayal and Ashish Aggarwal had made a police complaint for protection of the lives of their family members and against their forcible dispossession of properties i.e. a hotel, house and a mill in Ambala Cantonment. They alleged that the records of their properties were tempered with. As per the collector rate, the value of the properties is nearly Rs 113 crore.

The mater came to light in 2016 when Karan Aggarwal, a nephew of RC Tayal, found the name of the property owners wrong on the property tax receipt.

Following their complaints, a former Deputy Commissioner ordered an inquiry into the matter. It came to light that Balwant Rai, Sat Parkash, and Surinder Mohan had applied for mutation of the properties in the name of M/S Ananya IT Solutions, stating themselves to be the directors of the company.

The DC issued notices to all persons concerned. Clerk Ghasita Ram prepared the mutation letter and initiated the process. EO VB Bhardwaj signed it and issued the mutation letter in 2008, while the competent authority i.e. the DC had never ordered sanction of the mutation.

In the inquiry, Ghasita Ram and VB Bhardwaj were found guilty. It was found that the municipal officials misused their powers. They manipulated things to help the encroachers grab and encroach upon the properties of others by forcible dispossessing them. — TNS