Six Revenue officials suspended

Six Revenue Department officials were suspended on Monday following a report submitted by Devikulam Subcollector Renu Raj.

The order was issued by U.V. Jose, Revenue commissioner in-charge on the direction of V. Venu, Principal Secretary (Revenue).

The suspended officials are S. Babu, former special tahsildar, land assignment office, Rajakumari; P.S. Bhanukumar and P.P. Joy, former tahsildars (Udumbanchola); George Joseph, former clerk (Udumbanchola taluk office); Biju Joseph, former clerk, Rajakumari land assignment office; and K. Prasadkumar, former clerk, Udumbanchola taluk office.

A seven-member team constituted to probe the land encroachment by Apotheosis Infrastructure Private Ltd. had found that large areas of government land in Chinnakanal village in Devikulam taluk had been encroached upon by forging the documents.

The report clearly said that a few officials of the Revenue Department had connived with the land mafia to forge the documents and hundreds of acres of land was encroached upon by private parties. After encroaching the land, it was sold using the forged documents, the report said.

A recent order by Mr. Venu said that action should be initiated against 11 Revenue Department officials including the retired after 3.5 acres of land, part of the 11 acres of land under the Mumbai-based Apotheosis Infrastructure Private Ltd. got a favourable order from the High Court of Kerala.

The report by the Subcollector revealed serious illegitimate practices in Munnar region to encroach upon the government land. The land in question was encroached upon by Jimmy Sakkaria in 2007.