NEW DELHI: The CBI has registered a case of cheating, forgery and corruption against ‘unknown public servants’ of Haryana and private builders for acquiring around 400 acres of land in Gurgaon from farmers and land owners through illegal means during the tenure of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The purchase of land caused a loss of `1500 crore to the government exchequer, it said.
The agency said the private builders, in collusion with unknown public servants of the Haryana governmnmet, had purchased around 400 acres from farmers and land owners in Manesar, Naurangpur and Lakhnoula villages at throwaway prices, under the threat of acquisition by the government between August 27, 2004 and August 24, 2007.
The agency, however, refrained from revealing names of the builders and public servants, stating that the case was first registered by the Haryana government without naming anyone in the FIR. The names of the accused will come up during the probe. “The case has been registered under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 on the request of the Haryana government and further directions of the Central government, a CBI spokesperson said Thursday.
Initially, the Haryana government had issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act for acquisition of about 912 acres for setting up an Industrial Model Township in the three villages. It withdrew the same on August 24, 2007 but by that time, builders had allegedly acquired the land — paying just about `100 crore for lands worth `1,600 crore.