A revenue official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank District has been dismissed from service for manipulating land records, following an inquiry that confirmed corruption, forgery, and violation of official procedures.
The case, which resulted in deaths, injuries, and wrongful imprisonment, has raised serious questions about transparency and accountability in land administration.
Deputy Commissioner Tank, Tanwir Khan Khattak, removed Kanungo Israr Shah — a BS-11 officer at the DC Office Tank — under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Servants (Efficiency & Discipline) Rules, 2011, after a detailed inquiry found him guilty of tampering with revenue records.
According to the official order, the disciplinary action stemmed from a July 2025 judgment by Member-II, Board of Revenue Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in a revision petition titled Dalil Shah & Others vs. Miram Shah & Others. The judgment directed the correction of the manipulated record and ordered an inquiry into the officials involved in tampering.
Following the directive, a fact-finding inquiry was initiated, with Additional Deputy Commissioner (Finance & Planning) Muhammad Yousaf appointed as the inquiry officer. His report led to the launch of formal disciplinary proceedings against the accused official.
A subsequent inquiry, supervised by the Secretary to the Commissioner Dera Ismail Khan Division, confirmed that Israr Shah had forged and manipulated revenue documents. These findings were further substantiated by a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, which verified document forgery.
A show-cause notice was issued to the accused on 2 September 2025, under Rule 14(4) of the Efficiency & Discipline Rules, and he was also provided an opportunity for a personal hearing. After examining all relevant evidence and inquiry reports, the competent authority concluded that Shah was guilty of misconduct and corruption under Rule 3 of the same rules.
Consequently, the Deputy Commissioner Tank ordered his removal from service with immediate effect under Rule 4(1)(b)(iv) of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Servants (E&D) Rules, 2011. Officials confirmed that the manipulation of the revenue record in Tank by Kanungo Israr Shah had grave consequences — two people lost their lives, three were injured, and eight others were imprisoned as a direct result of his fraudulent actions.
It was also revealed that Israr Shah had been previously convicted by the Anti-Corruption Establishment in 2014 in a fake intiqal (land transfer) case involving a widow. Despite his conviction, he was later reinstated after his reconciliation (sullah) with the affected families.
