Gurgaon land acquisition case: CBI raids 20 locations (Lead, superceding previous story)

The CBI on Saturday conducted raids at 20 locations in Delhi and Haryana over the alleged irregularity in the purchase of 400 acres of land from Gurgaon farmers during 2004-2007 at throw away prices causing a loss of over Rs 1,500 crore to.

The official said that separate Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) teams searched the homes and offices of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, two former IAS officers, including Principal Secretary M. L. Tayal and UPSC member Chattar Singh, and a serving IAS S.S. Dhillon in Delhi and Haryana's Gurgaon, Rohtak, Chandigarh and Panchkula areas.

On the request of the Haryana government and directions of central government, the CBI registered a case against unknown public servants of the Haryana government and some private persons in September 2015.

CBI sources said that the unknown accused have been booked under charges of cheating, forgery, using as genuine a forged document, criminal conspiracy and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI took over the investigation of the case from Manesar police station in Gurgaon that had already registered a first information report against some public servants in Haryana and some private people.

"It is alleged that some private builders in conspiracy with Haryana government officials had purchased around 400 acres of land from the farmers of villages in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula in Gurgaon at throw away prices between August 27, 2004 and August 24, 2007," said a CBI official, adding the farmers and the land owners were threatened with acquisition of their land by the government if they did not sell.

According to the official, the Haryana government had initially issued a notification under the land acquisition act for land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an industrial model township at villages in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula.

"After that, all the land had allegedly been grabbed from the land owners and farmers by the private builders under the threat of acquisition at meagre rates," the official said.

"An order was also passed by the director of industries on August 24, 2007 releasing the land from the acquisition process but 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 official said.

The land measuring whose market value at that time was above Rs 4 crore per acre, totalling about Rs 1,600 crore, was allegedly purchased by the private builders from the land owners in only about Rs 100 crore.

--IANS

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