The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is prosecuting a government land encroachment case involving the present Chang Gup Kanjur and Karma Jamtsho, a former Land Record Officer.
They face charges of government land encroachment, forgery, deceptive practice and official misconduct. The preliminary hearing for the case was held on Thursday at the Thimphu District Court.
The OAG said Chang Gup Kanjur had encroached about 3.72 acres of government land from the public pasture land at Depsi in Thimphu by making a false map and thram. The alleged crime took place between 2000 and 2005.
The OAG said the Gup had then surveyed the encroached land and illegally registered it in his mother’s name and acquired benefits by selling it to other people.
Meanwhile, the former Land Record Officer is charged with official misconduct for helping register 35 decimal of government land.
According to the land act 1979, the pasture land belongs to the government. OAG said private individuals have no authority over it. OAG is also requesting the court to order the restitution of the encroached government land and penalize the suspects.