Taking cognizance of the CBI FIR, the Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and others for alleged financial irregularities in acquisition of land at Manesar in Gurgaon in which farmers were cheated to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore.
The move comes nearly a week after the CBI conducted searches in Haryana and the national Capital last week.
Hooda and others were booked by the ED under the Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMlA) and the agency has begun identifying the “proceeds of crime” allegedly created illegally as a fallout of the corruption done in the case.
“The accused would be summoned soon even as the agency is looking for assets created out of tainted funds to attach them under PMlA as part of the probes,” sources said.
The issue relates to CBI registering a case in September last year on allegations that private builders in conspiracy with unknown public servants of the Haryana Government had purchased around 400 acres of land from farmers and land owners at Manesar, Naurangpur and lakhnoula in Gurgaon district at throw away prices, showing the threat of acquisition by the Government, during August 27, 2004-August 24, 2007.
The acquisition allegedly caused a loss of Rs 1,500 crore to the land owners.
During last week’s searches at Hooda’s residence, CBI had claimed to have found “fund transaction details worth crores of rupees” which are now being scrutinised by the ED.
The ED is expected to seek a copy of these documents from the CBI soon, in order to take its probe forward.
CBI alleged that initially the Haryana Government had issued a notification under the land Acquisition Act for acquiring 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 at meager rates showing the threat of Government acquisition, CBI had said after registering the case.
An order was then allegedly issued by the Director of Industries on August 24, 2007 releasing this land from the acquisition process in violation of the Government policy, in favour of the builders, their companies and agents, instead of the original land owners.
The CBI has alleged in its FIR that in the said manner, land measuring about 400 acres whose market value at that time was above Rs 4 crore per acre approximately totalling about Rs 1,600 crore was allegedly purchased by the private builders and others from the innocent land owners for only about Rs 100 crore.