The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday has charge-sheeted former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, senior Congress leader Motilal Vora and Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in a case pertaining to re-allotment of an institution plot in Panchkula, Haryana.
Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a chargesheet against former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, senior Congress leader Motilal Vora and Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in connection with re-allotment of institution plot in Panchkula, Haryana. pic.twitter.com/WZ7LLudv4t
— ANI (@ANI) December 1, 2018
The charge-sheet was filed under sections 120B and 420 of the IPC in the court of special Judge Jagdeep Singh. According to the accusations, a plot of land in Panchkula was illegally re-allotted to AJL, which is controlled by senior members of the Gandhi family, including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, through Young India Ltd.
The allegations state that the then Haryana CM BS Hooda, in a gross abuse of power and in contravention to the laid rules, utilised his position to re-allot the plot to AJL in 2005 at original rates plus interest. He committed the act against the legal opinion of authorities and against the suggestion of Legal Remembrancer for re-advertising of the concerned plot. Allotment of the plot at the original rates caused a huge loss to state exchequer and illicit endowment to the company.
The CBI had filed an FIR on April 6, 2017. They filed it under section 409, 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code on the requests made by the Haryana government, Central government and the complaints received by the Vigilance Commission. Recently, Haryana governor Satyadev Narayan Arya had sanctioned prosecution of BS Hooda in the AJL case.
Haryana Vigilance Bureau had filed a case of cheating, corruption and criminal conspiracy against BS Hooda and AJL for alleged incongruencies in the allocation of a plot of land in Haryana’s Panchkula. CBI took over the case from the Haryana Vigilance Bureau in April last year and had sought prosecution warrant in October this year.
The state government had sought CBI’s help in the matter because of the involvement of persons in “high places” and the company’s pervasive presence across the country which would be beyond the purview of State Vigilance Bureau.
The case against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, which has been filed by BJP MP Subramaniam Swamy in the Young Indian Pvt Ltd and National Herald case, is set to come up for hearing on 4th December.
There are severe charges which are being investigated in the Young Indian case as well. Rahul Gandhi is accused of not divulging to authorities that he was the Director of Young Indian Pvt Ltd since 2010.
The ‘tax file’ had then revealed that Rahul Gandhi had hidden from the Income-Tax department that he was a Director in Young India, which is the main company involved in the ‘National Herald case’. He had allegedly hidden the facts from the I-T department. Therefore a whopping amount of Rs 154.97 crore couldn’t be assessed by them. The tax file also revealed that he was also the direct beneficiary of the funds directed at ‘Young India’.
As the judiciary is tightening the strings, things are seeming to take unexpected turns for the Congress party bigwigs. The Gandhi’s seem to be getting jittery. Earlier too, we had reported how the Gandhis’ had tried to oppose the Income Tax’ investigation into the National Herald case. Congress had also earlier reportedly threatened tax officials with legal consequences for asking “irrelevant questions” during their investigations.