In a startling case of fraud involving national defense property, Punjab Police have booked a mother and son for allegedly selling an Indian Air Force (IAF) airstrip near the Pakistan border using forged ownership documents. The airstrip, located in Fattuwala village in Ferozepur district, was a strategic asset used by the IAF during the 1962, 1965, and 1971 wars.
The accused, Usha Ansal and her son Naveen Chand Ansal, residents of Delhi, reportedly colluded with revenue officials to obtain fake ownership papers and sold the land to private individuals in 1997. The scam remained buried for years until a whistle-blower, Nishan Singh, a retired revenue officer, brought it to light.
Singh had filed multiple complaints over the years, but authorities allegedly ignored them. In 2021, following repeated inaction even after a formal complaint by the IAF’s Halwara Air Force Station, Singh approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court’s intervention finally triggered action.
Singh revealed that the land originally belonged to Madan Mohan Lal, who left for Delhi before India’s independence. After his death in 1991, local officials allegedly created fake land records and facilitated the sale to private parties. Singh accused revenue officers of repeatedly covering up the fraud in exchange for bribes.
According to a report submitted by the deputy commissioner, revenue records from 1958-59 clearly showed the land as being in possession of the Indian Air Force. A formal case has now been registered against the duo at the Kulgarhi Police Station.
The land was officially restored to the Ministry of Defence in May 2025. An investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the conspiracy and identify all individuals involved in the decades-long cover-up.
