ED files second chargesheet in Manesar land scam

CBI had in 2018, chargesheeted former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda in same and alleged THAT OFFICIALS IN HIS GOVT HAD CONSPIRED WITH BUILDERS TO CAUSE A LOSS OF RS 1,500 CR TO GOVT

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has now filed a second supplementary chargesheet in the moneylaundering case related to the Manesar land scam, in which former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other officials in his government were earlier charged by the CBI, officials here said on Sunday.

The ED had registered a money-laundering case in the matter after taking cognizance of the Central Bureau of Investigation's FIR from 2015. According to the FIR, officials of the Hooda government had allegedly conspired with private builders to acquire around 400 acres of land in Manesar from farmers and landowners at throwaway prices and then sold them off to make huge amounts of profits, causing an estimated loss of about Rs 1,500 crore to the public exchequer.

As per the ED, most of the plots of lands were purchased by one ABWIL Group, which the agency alleged was controlled by Atul Bansal. In addition to Bansal and ABWIL, the chargesheet has accused Sona Bansal, Mahamaya Exports Pvt Ltd, Shashikant Chaurasia, Dilip Lalwani, Varinder Uppal, Vijay Uppal, Viney Uppal, Ravinder Taneja, TDI Infrastructure Ltd, Wisdom Realtors Pvt Ltd and AB Rephcons Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.

According to the investigation conducted by the CBI, land worth around Rs 1,600 crore was acquired in this conspiracy at just about Rs 100 crore.

The ED'S second prosecution complaint in the case has been filed against 13 entities and accused and also includes an attachment of properties worth around Rs 108.79 crore. The ED'S PMLA investigation had revealed that private builders and entities had extorted the land from farmers and

landholders at meagre rates by threatening them with government acquisition.

According to the original complaint in the case, the Hooda government had first issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act in August 2004 to acquire 912 acres of

land in Manesar, Nourangpur and Lakhnoula villages of Gurugram. This notification, however, was withdrawn by an order in August 2007 by the state government, after the private builders and entities had extorted the land from its owners at unusually cheap prices, thereby allowing them to sell the land at extremely profitable rates.

The CBI had chargesheeted former CM Hooda along with a host of other then senior officials in the state government including the then Principal Secretary to the CM and the then Additional Principal Secretary to the CM, both of whom are senior retired IAS officers.

According to the CBI'S chargesheet in the case, the private builders had acquired at least 459 acres of land after the acquisition notification was issued by the state government and then had allegedly conspired with officials of the Department of Town and Country Planning to get licenses for these plots of land.

As per the financial probe agency, the private builders, after acquiring these plots had sold them to various other builders, who had also allegedly conspired to obtain licenses for these illegally purchased plots with the then senior officials in the state government.