Hooda’s relatives had business interests in Manesar land: CBI
CHANDIGARH: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought to establish that family members of the then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had interests in land in Manesar in Gurgaon district that was dropped from acquisition on his orders in 2007, after several acres were bought allegedly at low prices by builders using the Congress government’s acquisition plan as a tactic to effect panic sale by farmers.
Besides Hooda, three of his former aides and a number of realty firms have been charged with criminal conspiracy, fraud and corruption by the CBI in the scam, said to be worth ₹1,500 crore. The case is that the government in 2005 announced to acquire 912 acres for facilities at Industrial Model Township (IMT), Manesar, which led to hasty sale of about 400 acres to builders by farmers fearing measly compensation. The acquisition plan was scrapped in 2007, and licences for housing and commercial development were granted to builders over this land. After coming to power in Haryana, the BJP regime ordered a CBI probe in 2015.
The 163-page chargesheet document submitted before a CBI court on February 2 says investigations have revealed that three companies — Flair Realtors Pvt Ltd, Metropolis Realtors Pvt Ltd and Metropolis Infrastructure Pvt Ltd — purchased about 52 acres land in Manesar that was under acquisition on May 23, 2006. Gaurav Choudhry and Deepak Choudhry were directors of these companies.
On August 24, 2007, after acquisition was dropped and companies sought to develop residential colonies, CLU approval for five acres was granted to Flair Realtors and Metropolis Realtors. The fee (₹57.39 lakh) was paid to the town and country planning department by Millenia Infrastructure Pvt Ltd in which Sukhinder Hooda (Monu), a nephew of the then CM, was a director. Another director of Millenia, Arvind Walia, is a maternal uncle of Gaurav Choudhry, director of Flair Realtors.
“Arvind had collaboration agreement with Flair Realtors and Metropolis Realtors for construction of a school on the land for which CLU was granted. Thus, it is revealed that family members of BS Hooda had business interest in this CLU,’’ the CBI chargesheet says.
Hooda, when contacted, said, “How is Sukhinder involved ? There was no land purchased by him,” adding, “I have not received a copy of the chargesheet yet.”
QUID PRO QUO CHARGES ON CHHATAR
The chargesheet also says that Chhatar Singh, a since-retired IAS officer who served as principal secretary to CM (Hooda), in a “suspected transaction” sold a 12-marla house (location not clear in CBI document) for Rs 1.5 crore to one Alka Gupta, wife of Ranjan Gupta, of Greater Kailash, New Delhi.
Chhatar got the money through cheque in May 2010 but the sale deed was executed five months later, on October 4.
“Surprisingly, within 17 days of purchase the same property was sold by Alka Gupta on October 21, 2010, just for Rs 70 lakh to one Birmati of Munirka, New Delhi... Gupta thus bore a loss of Rs 80 crore in the purchase of this property,” the CBI has said. This Rs 80 lakh paid apparently more than the market value is being seen as “a reward” to Chhatar for grant of project licences on the Gurgaon land.
Here’s how. The CBI said that it was found that Ranjan Gupta was engaged in real estate business and was a director in Krish Build Tech Pvt Ltd, a group company of Aditya Build Well (ABW), one of the firms booked in the scam.
He has business transactions with Atul Bansal, the main beneficiary of the land release and director of Aditya Build Well (ABW) Infrastructure to whom six licences on 164 acres of land were granted. The CBI thus says that “loss of Rs 80 lakh borne by Guptas in the deal was nothing but a reward to Chhatar Singh on account of grant of six licenses to Atul Bansal and his companies”.
“Ranjan Gupta and Alka Gupta had never met Chhatar Singh before this deal. They purchased his house on the request of one Vashisht Goyal. Even at the time of the deal or anytime before the purchase, the Guptas did not visit Singh’s property.
Investigations have revealed that the former IAS officer managed to sell his property to Guptas through a former Haryana law officer, Sanjeev Bansal,” notes the chargesheet.
Chhatar, when contacted, said he won’t comment as the case is in court: “I am not aware of contents of the chargesheet”.