CHANDIGARH: Former Haryana chief minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, is among 34 persons to be framed in the Manesar land scam as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a huge chargesheet in the special CBI court in Chandigarh. The move comes nine months after the CBI interrogated Hooda. It is alleged that the Haryana government had issued a notification under the Land Acquisition Act, to acquire 912 acres for setting up a model industrial township at villages in Manesar, Naurangpur, and Lakhnoula in Gurugram.
The chargesheet, along with annexures, covers over 80,000 pages. Others charged are Hooda's prinicipal secretary Murari Lal Tayal, former union public service commission (UOSC) member Chhatar Singh, and retired IAS officer SS Dhillon, amongst others. The CBI took over the case from the Haryana Police in 2015. The state police had registered a case on allegations that certain private builders had conspired with unknown public servants to purchase 400 acres from Manesar farmers at throwaway prices under threats of acquisition by the government between August 27, 2004 and August 24, 2007. The CBI has stated that the private builders used the threat to acquisition to get the land at meagre rates.
