Thimphu district court bench II sentenced the former Chang gup Kanjur to a concurrent judgement of two years in prison for illegal encroachment of government land, deception, forgery and official misconduct on June 14. Another person, the then land record officer Karma Jamtsho was also sentenced to a year in prison.
The defendant was found guilty of forging original map of 1988 to survey two plots of land, Chakazhing and Dzomdrak Choetenjab, from the community pastureland in Debsi. The investigation found that the later was actually located in Punakha and already declared as Punakha land during Thed-Thimphu separation in the 1980s. The two plots measuring 90 decimals and 2.82 acres respectively were fragmented and sold to 18 individuals. The investigation found that the two plots sometime in between the year 2000 and 2005 were fraudulently registered by Kanjur in the name of his mother Tenzin. In trying to conceal and make it appear on official record that these plots originally existed in Debsi and surveyed in 1988, he forged and tampered the detail survey map, the kappa form and arranged falsified community clearance.
As per OAG charges, he was found guilty. Therefore the court sentenced him to four years seven months in prison. He was convicted to one year each for two counts of forgery under the Thrimzhung Chenmo, one year for official misconduct, a year for deceptive practise and seven months for illegal encroachment of government land.
The court, however, gave a concurrent judgment of two years to Kanjur and was asked him to pay Nu 90,000 in lieu of his prison term.
The court also asked Kanjur and his mother to reinstitute 3.72 acres of land to the government and provide land substitutes to 18 other landowners who bought the government land.
Karma Jamtsho, the then Land Record Officer, was also convicted for facilitating Kanjur in processing the illegal registration despite his clear knowledge that one of the plots was officially declared to be in Punakha. He was sentenced to a year in prison and was ordered to pay Nu 45,000 in lieu of his prison terms.
