CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at around ten locations in Delhi and Haryana in connection with its money-laundering probe in the alleged irregularities in land acquisition in Manesar.
ED officials said that searches were carried out at the premises of ten people -- IAS officers, Haryana government officials and builders.
Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is one of the accused in an FIR registered by the ED in September 2015 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The 400 acres was allegedly bought between August 2004 and August 2007 by private builders at throwaway prices from farmers who were threatened with the acquisition of their land by the government.
The market value of the land was at that time was Rs 1600 crore as it was Rs 4 crore per acre approximately and builders only paid Rs 100 crore to the farmers.
It was alleged that the then government adopted a modus operandi of first issuing notifications with the intent to acquire land for public purpose, creating a sense of fear among the farmers that they would end up getting low compensation.
The builders used this to trap farmers to sell their land at much lower than the market price. The notifications were cancelled soon after the land was acquired.