The Jammu and Kashmir vigilance bureau of Wednesday booked former housing and urban development minister Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah and three top officials in a land scam.

This is the first time in the state that action has been taken against a former minister.

A first information report had been filed against Shah, leader of the opposition in the assembly and senior-most National Conference leader, former commission secretary, housing and urban development department, former vice-chairman, Jammu Development Authority, and former secretary, JDA, because they abused their position and caused loss to the state exchequer, a vigilance bureau spokesperson said.

The bureau conducted a month-long investigation into the scam and collected all relevant documents, the spokesperson said.

Shah is a relative of former chief minister Farooq Abdullah.