While Jammu and Kashmir mourns the death of 27 tourists in a chilling terror attack in Pahalgam, questions swirl around the financial propriety of the state’s top police officer, DGP Nalin Prabhat. A slew of high-value property deals worth over Rs 50 crore executed by the IPS officer and his family in recent years has now drawn national scrutiny.
A Scenic Hideaway or Strategic Acquisition?
Barely two months after taking charge as Director General of Police (DGP) in Jammu and Kashmir in October 2024, Nalin Prabhat an IPS officer of the 1992 Andhra Pradesh cadre was finalizing the purchase of prime land in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali. Property records show that an 8-bigha plot of unirrigated agricultural land in Phathi Baruah Kothi, Manali, was bought for Rs 9.6 crore, with an additional Rs 95 lakh in stamp duty and registration charges, taking the total to over Rs 10 crore.
The December 16, 2024 transaction is registered jointly in the names of his wife, Poonam Prabhat, and son, Ahaan, both holding 50% ownership. The seller, Suryaveer Singh Rathore of Kangra, transferred the land weeks before Jammu and Kashmir witnessed one of its deadliest terror strikes in recent history.
Sources within the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) confirmed that Prabhat had disclosed the purchase in November 2024, meeting the official procedural requirements. Yet, the timing and scale of the acquisition against the backdrop of his freshly assumed responsibilities in a volatile border state have raised eyebrows.
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The Chandigarh Bungalow That Broke Records
Even more staggering is a Rs 26.23 crore transaction made in 2023 before Prabhat took over as J&K DGP when he was serving in the CRPF. The property in question is bungalow no. 77 in Sector 5, Chandigarh, one of the city’s most elite addresses.
The sale deed, signed with a family from Gurgaon’s DLF Golf Links, reveals that the sprawling house is under joint ownership among Prabhat, his wife Poonam, and son Arhan, each with a 33.33% share.
What turns this into a financial puzzle is the source of funding. Prabhat’s disclosure document claims the entire sum came from an advance received from Vijay Bansal, a businessman from Gulab Bagh, Uttam Nagar, West Delhi. Bansal purportedly agreed to buy three agricultural plots in Zirakpur, Punjab, owned by Prabhat and his family.
According to the declaration, Bansal paid Rs 21.28 crore, Rs 6.9 crore, and Rs 35 lakh for the plots. Curiously, two of these lands were inherited as ancestral property from Prabhat’s grandfather, D.S. Mohi, and passed on to him and Ahaan. No documentation or market valuation backing these figures was publicly disclosed.
Legal experts say that the sheer scale of this off-market exchange demands a deeper probe into valuation, money trail, and intent.
An Officer’s Modest Pay vs Monumental Assets
All of these transactions have been declared by Prabhat as per service rules. Yet the figures starkly contrast with his stated income. In official documents, Prabhat lists his monthly salary at Rs 2,24,100—a sum that, even with cumulative savings, does not align with the scale and frequency of his property deals.
Other assets include:
- A Rs 2.35 crore land from his mother in Zirakpur (2021)
- A Rs 37-lakh flat in Motia’s Royal Oasis (2013)
- A Rs 9-crore bungalow inherited from his father in 2015
- A Rs 25-lakh property in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
In addition, he reported spending Rs 1.8 crore for alterations and decorations on the Chandigarh home in 2023, all while posted in insurgency-hit Kashmir.
The Silence and the Suspicion
A detailed query has been sent to DGP Prabhat regarding the source of funds, valuation of properties, and connections to individuals like Vijay Bansal. No response was received at the time of publication.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has taken note of the disclosures amid mounting pressure for transparency, especially after the Pahalgam terror attack that left 27 tourists dead, sparking nationwide outrage.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has already taken over the case, and sources suggest that Prabhat’s recent property acquisitions may also come under a parallel financial scrutiny.