LAND DEAL: CBI QUESTIONS HOODA
Private builders had allegedly purchased land from owners at throwaway prices
LAND WAS ALLEGEDLY PURCHASED AFTER SHOWING THREAT OF ACQUISITION BY THE GOVERNMENT
CHANDIGARH: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday, in connection with the Manesar land deal case registered against him in 2015.
Hooda arrived at the CBI office in Chandigarh at noon and was being questioned for over seven hours. The CBI had registered the case on September 17, 2015 on allegations that private builders in conspiracy with unknown public servants of the Haryana government had purchased around 400 acres of land from farmers and land owners of village at Manesar, Naurangpur and Gurgaon at throwaway prices.
The land was allegedly purchased showing the threat of acquisition by the government, during the period August 27, 2004 to August 24, 2007.
It is alleged that in this process, initially, the Haryana government had issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act for acquiring about 912-acres of land for setting up an industrial model township at villages in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula in Gurgaon.
After that, all the land was allegedly grabbed from the land owners by private builders under the threat of acquisition at meagre rates, the CBI had said after registration of the case.
It may be recalled that Hooda is also facing two other cases registered against him and others by CBI.
The CBI had on April 6, 2017, had booked Hooda and others for alleged irregularities in allotment of a plot to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), which once published newspaper National Herald in Panchkula. It registered a case of alleged cheating and corruption against former chief minister and the then chairman of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) Bhupinder Singh Hooda, besides some other officials of HUDA in the allotment of a plot to AJL in Panchkula.
On May 21, 2016, the CBI registered a case of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy criminal conspiracy and Section 13 of prevention of corruption Act, besides some other sections against several officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), including chairman (a post held by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda), over alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 industrial plots and conducts searches at 16 locations in different cities of Haryana.