FIR AGAINST DLF, HOODA, VADRA OVER GURUGRAM LAND DEAL

The Gurugram police on Saturday registered a criminal case against real estate developers DLF Limited and Onkareshwar Properties Private Limited, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Robert Vadra, the brother-inlaw of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in connection with suspected irregularities in a land deal.

The transaction involved Vadra’s Sky Light Hospitality, DLF, and Onkareshwar Properties in Gurugram’s Shikohpur. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made alleged corruption and nepotism in the land deal a poll issue in 2014.

A police complaint relating to the deal was made in the morning by a resident of Rathiwas in Taouru, Surender Sharma, and by the evening an FIR had been registered at Kherki Daula police station in Gurugram. Sharma said he was a social worker and was upset over the sequence of events in the matter.

Asked whether the police inquired into the complex land and financial matter before registering the FIR, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Manesar, Rajesh Kumar, said that although no separate inquiry had been conducted, the complaint was examined as is done in every case. “Since a cognizable offence was made out in the complaint, the FIR was registered,” the DCP said. DLF chief executive officer (CEO) Rajeev Talwar said the company had nothing to say at the moment. “Our legal team would study the FIR and we will get back to you,” he said.

Former chief minister Hooda said it was a baseless case being made out of political vendetta by the BJP government. “The ruling BJP government has been an utter failure and was desperate to divert the attention of the people. They have nothing new to tell,” he said. “Election season, increase in oil prices...so let’s divert real people’s issues with my decade-old issue. What’s new?” news agency ANI quoted Vadra as saying.