New Delhi/Srinagar: Has an investigation been launched against Nalin Prabhat, director general of police, Jammu and Kashmir, for amassing property beyond his known means?
Some media platforms, including The New Indian, has claimed that Prabhat, a celebrated officer and recipient of three police medals for gallantry and the Parakram Padak, went on a ‘property purchase-spree’ before the Pahalgam terror strike of April 22 that left 26 persons, mostly tourists from across the country, dead.
While some documents have appeared along with the news reports, no official reaction from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) or the DGP has been published. Some believe that this is an effort to tarnish the reputation of the officer.
Prabhat is a 1992-batch IPS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, who took over as DGP, J&K Police in October 2024. It has been alleged that Just two months later, he and his family acquired an eight-bigha plot of agricultural land in Manali, Himachal Pradesh, for Rs 9.6 crore. The land, located in Phathi Baruah Kothi of Manali tehsil in Kullu district, was jointly registered in the names of his wife Poonam and son Ahaan. Records show a total transaction cost exceeding Rs 10 crore, factoring in a stamp duty of Rs 76 lakh and a registration fee of Rs 19 lakh.
It has also been claimed that in 2023, while serving with the CRPF, Prabhat acquired a luxury bungalow in Chandigarh’s elite Sector 5 for Rs 26.23 crore. Reports suggest that this was one of the most expensive real estate deals by an IPS officer in recent times. The bungalow is jointly owned by Prabhat, his wife, and his son.
Prabhat apparently disclosed before the MHA that the Chandigarh property was financed after one Vijay Bansal, a businessman from Gulab Bagh, Uttam Nagar, West Delhi paid an advance in exchange for three agricultural plots in Zirakpur, Punjab, two of which were ancestral properties inherited by the officer from his grandfather D S Mohi.
The IPS officer has declared a monthly salary of Rs 2,24,100. It is not known whether his wife and son also earn. It has also been claimed that in 2023, he spent Rs 1.8 crore on renovations and additions to the Chandigarh bungalow.
The officer has also disclosed a Rs 2.35 crore plot in Zirakpur, Punjab, gifted by his mother Archana Mohit, a Rs 37 lakh flat in Motia’s Royal Oasis in Zirakpur, purchased in 2013, a Rs 9 crore bungalow inherited from his father in 2015 and a Rs 25 lakh house in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh.
Prabhat is a known counter-insurgency expert who has led several operations in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, against the Naxalites. He has also served with the CRPF in Kashmir. He was also the DG, National Security Guard (NSG) for three months.
