Bhupendra Singh Hudda
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached a plot of land worth over Rs 300 crore belonging to real estate group M3M in Gurugram as part of a money laundering probe linked to an alleged land fraud case involving Congress leader and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The federal probe agency had issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the plot.
The 88.29 acre land is located at Bashariya village in Harsaru tehsil in Gurugram district of Haryana, a statement said. The ED said in a statement that the value of this plot is Rs 300.11 crore. At the same time, a spokesperson of the real estate group said in a statement that they are “extremely disappointed by the extremely unfair, unjust and unnecessary action taken by the ED to temporarily attach the plot. This plot is in no way linked to any crime and under no circumstances can it come under the purview of proceeds of crime under PMLA.”
Investigation started on CBI’s FIR
The money laundering case is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR registered against Hooda, Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly, Trilok Chand Gupta, former Director Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), realty group R S Infrastructure Private Limited (RSIPL) and 14 other companies. The ED said it is alleged that the accused had defrauded the landowners, including the State of Haryana and the then Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), among others. The ED said the accused cheated the landowners by getting notification issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and thereafter under Section 6 to acquire the land of the concerned landowners.
forced to sell land at low price
The agency said this “forced” them to sell their land to real estate companies at a price lower than the prevailing price. According to the agency, the accused “fraudulently and dishonestly” obtained letters of intent (LOI) or licences on notified land, causing loss to the landowners and the state of Haryana, but earning wrongful gains for themselves. M3M said it has made huge investments for the plot in question where a residential or commercial project is likely to be set up. The company spokesperson said, “The potential of this project has also been ignored which will generate employment for thousands of families. Therefore, the ED’s action to seize the property is neither justified in law nor justified from the point of view of justice and equity.” (Input- PTI language)
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