Our Correspondent
CBI today carried out searches at the residences of former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and a sitting 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 Rs 1,500 crore.
A CBI team arrived at Mr Hooda’s homes in Haryana’s Rohtak and Panchkula a little after 8 am this morning. Later, some Congress leaders called on the Hoodas.
According to CBI sources 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.
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 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 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.