ED Grills Former Haryana CM BS Hooda In Manesar Land Grab Case

The ED has filed a case of money laundering against Hooda and several other officials of the state Urban Development Department on the basis of the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

New Delhi: Enforcement Directorate questioned former Haryana Chief Minister and senior Congress leader BS Hooda in Chandigarh on Thursday, for over 4 hours in connection with a Manesar land grab case, wherein land was acquired in the state "illegally" with alleged connivance of senior government functionaries and bureaucrats. Hooda was questioned under the sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, agencies reported. Several farmers and land owners are alleged to have been cheated to the tune of about Rs 1,500 crore in the case. The ED has filed a case of money laundering against Hooda and several other officials of the state Urban Development Department on the basis of the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Earlier this year, the CBI had booked Hooda and T.C. Gupta, the then Chief Administrator, HUDA and Director, Urban Estate, Town and Country Planning Department, and others, including 15 private builders, on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, pecuniary advantage and criminal misconduct in connection with alleged irregularities in allotting over 1,417 acres of land in Gurugram during 2009-12. Earlier this month, the CBI had carried out raids at the Krish Buildtech Pvt Ltd. in Jasola district centre in Delhi, and recovered 14 documents pertaining to land deals in Manesar.