Manesar land deal: CBI lens on three IAS officers’ assets

New Delhi, July 1 (IANS) The CBI has sought the property records of three IAS officers in its ongoing probe in the 400-acre land deal in Gurugram's Manesar.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is also facing the CBI heat in the Manesar land scam case, which allegedly took place when he was at the state's helm.

The investigating agency broadened its probe against the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, whose names are withheld, to dig out information if real estate players were favoured in the Manesar land deal release case, an official said on Saturday.

The CBI is taking the step following the inputs of Enforcement Directorate (ED), whose officials had conducted multiple raids at premises of several serving and retired officers in June after registering a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the same matter.

Informed sources said that the agency has also written a letter to Haryana Chief Secretary Depinder Singh Dhesi seeking property details of these IAS officers.

The agency has also sought a set of documents from the industries department pertaining to the release of the land.

"The CBI is seeking to find out whether there was a quid pro quo. Two officials, who held key positions during the Congress rule had entered real estate deals with a realtor, Aditya Buildwell Pvt Ltd, who was granted colonisation licences after the land was released from acquisition," a CBI officer said.

The CBI had in 2015 registered a case against the builders and Haryana officials for their alleged role in the fraudulent purchase of 400 acres land worth Rs 1,600 crore (as per then market rates) from gullible farmers of Manesar in Gurugram district for a mere Rs 100 crore.

The land was allegedly purchased showing the threat of acquisition by the state government during August 27, 2004 to August 24, 2007.

The Haryana government had initially issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act for acquisition of land measuring about 912 acres for setting up an industrial model township in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula villages.

The land was later grabbed from the owners by private builders at meagre rates, the CBI had said after registration of the case.

In May, the CBI had also questioned Hooda for over nine hours in connection with the case.

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