Ranchi (Mail News Service): Acting on directions of the Jharkhand High Court, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday lodged an FIR and launched a probe into the large-scale illegal encroachment of land belonging to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The FIR was registered at the ACB’s Ranchi unit following orders passed by a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad, which directed criminal action against government officials and private builders accused of facilitating unlawful constructions on land acquired for RIMS more than five decades ago.
The High Court made it clear that all illegal structures raised on the encroached land must be removed. However, it also ordered that affected residents should be compensated, and that compensation would not be paid from the state exchequer. Instead, the amount will be recovered from the guilty officials and builders found responsible for the illegal encroachments.
As per the court’s directions, the ACB investigation will scrutinize the roles of revenue officials, Circle Officers, and municipal and planning authorities who allegedly manipulated land records and issued illegal mutations, rent receipts, no-objection certificates (NOCs), and building plan approvals on government land that is legally vested with RIMS.
The controversy traces back to land acquisition carried out during 1964–65 for the establishment of RIMS. Despite compensation being paid and ownership legally transferring to the state, illegal registrations and constructions were allegedly permitted over the years. A court-appointed inquiry later revealed encroachments on nearly seven acres of RIMS land, including residential houses, shops, and multi-storey buildings.
The encroachments have raised serious concerns regarding hospital security, hygiene, and the future expansion of the state’s premier medical institution. The High Court has rejected all ownership claims based on sale deeds, khatiyan records, or permissions under the CNT Act.
Warning of stringent consequences, the court has also indicated that a wider investigation, including the possibility of a CBI probe, may be ordered depending on the findings of the ongoing ACB inquiry.
