2 September 2026 Punjab Khabarnama Bureau : A suspected revenue-record fraud has come to light in Punjab’s Nangal, where a man was allegedly shown as dead in official records, after which his ancestral agricultural land was transferred through inheritance-related mutations and later sold.
The matter has reached the SDM office in Nangal, with the complainant alleging serious lapses in the verification of identity and death records.
Man Discovers He Was Declared Dead
Prakash Chand, a resident of the Majowal area of Nangal, reportedly discovered that his ancestral property in Majri village had been transferred to other people.
When he investigated the matter, he allegedly found that revenue records showed him as deceased. The land was subsequently transferred on the basis of inheritance-related revenue entries.
Alleged Identity Mix-Up
According to a complaint filed through Prakash Chand’s advocate, Navdeep Hira, revenue officials allegedly declared another person with the same name to be dead.
The complaint alleges that the death certificate of the other individual was then used to facilitate changes in the ownership and inheritance records relating to Prakash Chand’s ancestral land.
Land Mutation Registered in December 2025
Documents submitted to the revenue authorities reportedly show that a mutation concerning the property was registered on December 4, 2025.
The petitioners have challenged the mutation and subsequent revenue entries, arguing that the changes adversely affected their ownership and inheritance rights.
Property Was Later Sold
The matter became more serious because the land was allegedly not merely transferred through revenue records but was subsequently sold to other individuals.
The case has raised questions over how the identity of the landowner and the authenticity of death and inheritance documents were verified before the ownership records were changed.
Show-Cause Notices Issued to Revenue Officials
Nangal SDM Sachin Pathak said show-cause notices had been issued to the then tehsildar Jasbir Singh, then patwari Sham Avtar and the concerned nambardar.
He also said a disciplinary inquiry had been initiated into the matter.
Missing Revenue Records Add to Concern
The case has emerged against the backdrop of concerns over missing revenue records in the Nangal subdivision.
Revenue records, including jamabandis and mutation registers dating back to the late 1980s, were reportedly missing from 14 villages. Authorities have recovered records relating to 10 villages, while records of four villages remain missing.
FIR Registered Over Missing Records
An FIR has reportedly been registered in connection with the missing revenue records.
However, according to the report, no arrests had been made and no further action had been taken in that case so far.
Serious Questions Over Land Records
The alleged case highlights the importance of accurate verification before making changes to land ownership records.
A person’s death status can have major consequences for inheritance, property rights and subsequent transactions. Any incorrect or fraudulent entry can therefore trigger a chain of ownership changes that becomes difficult to reverse once property has been sold.
Inquiry to Establish Responsibility
The ongoing disciplinary inquiry is expected to examine how the alleged death entry was created, how the mutation was processed and how the subsequent transfer and sale of the property took place.
The allegations remain under investigation, and responsibility will depend on the findings of the authorities.