ED grills former Haryana CM Hooda in Panchkula AJL plot case

The ED on Thursday questioned former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with a money laundering case related to the allotment of a plot in Panchkula to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in an "illegal" manner, official sources said.

The sources had earlier said that the questioning was conducted in connection with an alleged land grab case in Manesar in Haryana.

Hooda was grilled in Chandigarh for over four hours and his statement was registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

He is expected to be questioned again Friday, they added.

The plot in Panchkula, registered at no C-17 in Sector-6, was attached by the Enforcement Directorate in December last year.

AJL is reportedly controlled by senior Congress leaders, including members of the Gandhi family. The group runs the National Herald newspaper.

The ED probe had found that Hooda, as the then Haryana chief minister, "misused his official position by dishonestly and fraudulently allotting the said plot to AJL afresh in the guise of re-allotment at rates prevalent in 1982 (Rs 91 per sqm) plus interest despite the fact that the cancellation of allotment of the plot had earlier attained finality and it could not legally be re-allotted."