Court directs CBI to provide all chargesheet documents to accused

HOODA HAD MOVED PLEA, SEEKING PROPER AND COMPLETE DOCUMENTS OF THE CHARGESHEET

PANCHKULA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here on Thursday has directed CBI to provide all documents of chargesheet to the accused in the Manesar land deal case.

Duringtheresumedhearingin the case, special CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh issued these directions as the defence counsel submitted that they were not provided complete documents of the chargesheet. The court has already granted regular bail to former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and others in connection with the case. It has now fixed October 4 as the next date of hearing. On August 10, Hooda had moved an application in the CBI court, seeking proper and complete documents of the chargesheet filed by the CBI.

On February 2, the CBI had filed a chargesheet of 80,000 pages against 34 persons, including Hooda, former Union Public Service Commission member Chhatar Singh, former principal secretaries Murari Lal Tayal and SS Dhillon and promoter of Gurugram-based real estate company ABW Builders, Atul Bansal.

The CBI claimed that the government had issued notifications under the Land Acquisition Act for acquiring 912 acres in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula villages in Gurugram district for an industrial model township.

Threatening farmers with acquisition, private builders, in connivance with public servants, reportedly purchased about 350 acres at throwaway rates between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh per acre. The entire land, valued at more than Rs 1,600 crore, was allegedly purchased for Rs 100 crore. The CBI had submitted that this land was released in violation of the government policy in favour of the builders, their companies and agents instead of original land owners.