ED quizzes Bhupinder Singh Hooda in land scam probe
Sources said Hooda’s statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned former Haryana chief minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda as part of its money laundering probe pertaining to a land scam case.
Sources said Hooda’s statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was questioned by the ED sleuths in Chandigarh. The ED is probing Hooda’s role in multiple criminal cases of money laundering, including the Manesar land case and the Associated Journal Limited (AJL) land case. Earlier, another Central investigative agency, the CBI, had filed a case against Hooda in connection with alleged irregularities in the acquisition of land in Haryana when he was the CM of the state. According to ED sources, Hooda allegedly misused his official position and allotted a plot in the guise of re-allotment at an under-valued price to the AJL, a group that runs the National Herald newspaper. Sources alleged that the value of the plot was `64.93 crore, but Mr Hooda gave it away for `59 lakh. The ED recently attached the plot under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“Mr Hooda did not adhere to the legal opinion of legal remembrance, Haryana, and recommendations of HUDA officials and financial commissioner of the town and country planning. Thus, the then chief minister caused wrongful loss to HUDA and wrongful gain to AJL,” sources alleged.