Chandigarh, Oct 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Punjab BJP on Friday took note of the alleged Rs 77.99 crore land scam involving the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA).
Reacting to a letter written by the Jalandhar Zone of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Mohali seeking the registration of a case, the state party President Kewal Singh Dhillon.
“Another new scandal involving the government has come to light. The PCA President and his son are senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and are on the ED’s radar,” Dhillon said in a statement.
He said the alleged land scam had exposed the Aam Aadmi Party government’s Punjab Model. He said the ED’s preliminary investigation had revealed shocking details.
During the tenure of Amarjeet Mehta and Padamjeet Mehta, land was allegedly purchased from farmers in Ajnala and Bathinda at low prices and subsequently sold to the PCA at prices 15.4 times higher.
“Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann must explain whether this is what he calls his Punjab model. He must also explain how land prices increased 15-fold within just four months.”
He said the investigation has revealed that the PCA purchased 155 kanals and 15 marlas of land in Ajnala for Rs 58 crore and 100 kanals and 10 marlas of land in Bathinda for approximately Rs 19.76 crore.
A few months earlier, two companies had purchased this land from farmers at significantly lower prices. One company purchased 61 kanals of land from farmers at Rs 2.22 lakh per kanal, for a total of Rs 1.36 crore, and sold it to the PCA four months later at Rs 37.4 lakh per kanal for Rs 12.03 crore.
Similarly, he said, another company purchased 224 kanals of land from farmers for Rs 5.56 crore and subsequently sold it to the PCA for Rs 46.18 crore. Dhillon said this was yet another example of a government involved in cash-for-favours transactions.
He added that a government which had claimed it would promote cricket had now turned the PCA into a factory for exploiting farmers.
He questioned the government and demanded that it explain where the money allegedly extracted from farmers had gone. Dhillon said the BJP demanded that the Mohali SSP immediately register an FIR in the case.
He also called for a time-bound investigation and strict action against those found guilty.
Source: IANS
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