11 booked for transferring land illegally

Ferozepur, July 17
Eleven persons were booked in two cases for getting ownership of forest land in the Makhu area of this district on the basis of bogus documents in the Makhu police station here today.
Acting on the complaints lodged by Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Ferozepur, two separate cases were registered against seven and four persons under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC.
In the first case, seven persons - Kuldeep Singh, Ranjit Singh, Nishan Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Kashmir Singh, Daljit Singh and Surinder Singh took possession of about 80 kanals of forest land after getting its ownership transferred in their name by creating bogus documents.
The other case was registered against four persons - Amarinder Singh, Lakhmir Singh, Daljit Singh and Raunak Singh - in Makhu police station for their alleged involvement in getting about 108 kanals transferred in their name with fake papers. Both pieces of land are located in Gatti Hari Ke forest belt of this district.
Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that police authorities were investigating whether revenue officials were involved in this fraud or not. They were also trying to ascertain how many trees on the forest land had been felled by these miscreants.
In the past few years, the forest areas, which are under the occupation and ownership of the state Forest Department, have come under grave threat from unscrupulous elements as a large numbers of trees were being felled and encroachment on forest land was being done under political patronage.
Many persons had managed to get themselves registered as cultivators on the forest land in the official revenue records with the connivance of revenue officials in this district in the past.
Harsh Kumar, Conservator, Forest, Ferozepur, while admitting the threat to tree cover and forest land in the district, said that efforts were being made to protect these from unscrupulous elements.