The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and 21 others in the Panchkula land allotment scam. Four retired IAS officers have also been named in the ED chargesheet, reported India Today on February 16.
The ED chargesheet has named Hooda, IAS officers Dharam Pal Singh Nagal, Surjit Singh, Subhash Chandra Kansal, Narinder Kumar Solanki, and HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) Superintendent Bharat Bhushan Taneja. The 14 allottees who benefitted off the Panchkula land allocation were also chargesheeted for violating the anti money laundering Act.
The case dates back to 2013, when 14 industrial plots in Panchkula worth Rs 30.34 crore were allotted to the acquaintances of the former Haryana chief minister.
An FIR was lodged by the State Vigilance Bureau in Haryana in 2015, following which an investigation was started by the ED. In 2016, the Panchkula land allotment case was subsequently transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The agency found that 14 industrial plots in Phase 1 and 2 of Panchkula were allotted to people with links in the Congress party.
Investigation revealed that Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was the ex-officio Chairman of HUDA, conspired with four IAS officers and other officials to cut sweetheart deals for their acquaintances. The price for the land plots were kept four to five times lower than the circle rate and substantially lower than the market rate too.
The land allotment procedure was also changed to favour the pre-selected applicants and the interview process was also allegedly rigged.
The ED said: “Hence, worthy applicants were driven out of merit and applicants who were closely connected to Bhupender Singh Hooda, in terms of his personal capacity and also in terms of the political party he belongs to, were allotted these plots.”
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