BackCBI raids Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s residence, 19 other locations
CBI says the agency has carried out searches at 20 locations in Rohtak, Gurgaon, Panchkula and Delhi in connection with alleged irregularities in the Gurgaon land acquisition case
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New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday carried out searches at the residences of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and a sitting Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) member along with 18 other locations in a case of alleged irregularities in acquisition of land in Gurgaon in which farmers were cheated to the tune of ₹ 1,500 crore.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said besides Hooda’s residence, premises of the then principal secretary M.L. Tayal, UPSC member Chattar Singh, both former IAS officers, and a serving IAS S.S. Dhillon were also searched by the team.
“In an ongoing investigation, CBI carried out searches at 20 locations in Rohtak, Gurgaon, Panchkula and Delhi in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of land from farmers in Gurgaon," CBI spokesperson R.K. Gaur said.
The agency had registered the case last year in September on allegations that private builders in conspiracy with unknown public servants of Haryana Government had purchased around 400 acres of land from farmers and land owners of village Manesar, Naurangpur & Lakhnoula, district Gurgaon at throw away prices, showing the threat of acquisition by the government, during the period 27 August, 2004 to 24 August 2007.
It is alleged that in this process, initially, the Haryana Government had issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act for acquisition of land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an Industrial Model Township at Villages Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula in Gurgaon.
After that, all the land had allegedly been grabbed from the land owners by private builders under the threat of acquisition at meagre rates, CBI had said after registration of the case. It is alleged that an order was also passed by the competent authority i.e. the Director of Industries on 24 August 2007 releasing this land from the acquisition process and the land was released in violation of the government policy, in favour of the builders, their companies and agents, instead of the original land owners.
The CBI has alleged in its FIR (First Information Report) that in the said manner, land measuring about 400 acres whose market value at that time was above Rs4 crore per acre approximately totalling about Rs1,600 crore approximately was allegedly purchased by the private builders & others from the innocent land owners for only about Rs100 crore. It was alleged that a loss of Rs1,500 crore was caused to the land owners of village Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula of Gurgaon.
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