Govt sets up special EOU cell to crack down on land corruption

Patna: The revenue and land reforms department has constituted a special cell under the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) following repeated complaints of corruption, illegal extortion and irregularities in revenue-related operations, minister Dilip Jaiswal said on Thursday.The move is expected to strengthen the crackdown on organised gangs involved in forging land documents and networks engaged in illegal land encroachments across the state.Dilip told reporters that the specialised cell, formed for the first time in any department of the Bihar govt, will function under the EOU, which investigates economic offences, corruption cases and major scams in the state. He said the new mechanism would significantly enhance technical investigations and digital surveillance in land-related matters.The special cell comprises officers from the rank of deputy superintendent of police to inspectors, sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors. It will not remain confined to receiving complaints alone, but will also carry out field investigations, conduct raids and initiate legal proceedings wherever required.Several districts, including Patna, had witnessed growing complaints related to illegal sale and purchase of govt land, preparation of forged land deeds and fraudulent jamabandi records, as well as irregularities in land mutation processes.According to an official letter issued by the EOU headquarters in Patna, a dedicated team has been deputed to the revenue and land reforms department to assist in probing corruption-related complaints and taking follow-up action.The deputed officers include DSP Rakesh Kumar, police inspector Hari Ojha and sub-inspector Chaturvedi Sudhir Kumar.Dilip said the govt’s priority was to ensure transparent, accountable and corruption-free revenue services for the public. He said the department had been receiving persistent complaints regarding corruption and irregularities in online services and revenue-related work, including mutation (dakhil-kharij), land record rectification (parimarjan), land measurement and land revenue collection.