The Hindu : National : Congress MLA's premises searched

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Friday, Apr 08, 2005

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National

Congress MLA's premises searched

By Rajesh Ahuja

CHANDIGARH, APRIL 7. In an ironical twist, a special team of the Central Bureau of Investigation searched the rented premises of the Congress MLA from Palwal, Karan Singh Dalal, in Sector 15 here today in connection with the Junior Basic Teachers (JBT) recruitment scam which he in the first place had helped expose along with a senior IAS officer, Sanjeev Kumar.

Mr. Dalal, who almost single-handedly carried outa campaignagainst the erstwhile Chautala regime in the last six years, exposing what he alleged were several acts of corruption and played a crucial role in the formulation of the Congress charge-sheet against the then rulers.

Mr. Dalal, who was present when the CBI sleuths searched his residence, told The Hindu after the "long drawn-out exercise", that he had always cooperated with the CBI in the JBT recruitment scam.

"I told the CBI teams from Chandigarh and Delhi what I knew about the case and handed over to them a large number of documents relating to the `scam', including several memoranda I had submitted to the Governor and the Union Home Minister against the Indian National Lok Dal (Chautala) regime's misdeeds," he added.

"Now I am leaving for Palwal as the CBI wants to search my premises there too ... The CBI could have summoned me and sought the documents they required instead of carrying out the `search' in this manner," he said.

The CBI also raided House No. 80 in the prestigious Sector 9 here, which is alleged to have been purchased recently by the Chautala clan. The residence of a senior IAS officer, Harbaksh Singh, in Sector 24 here and that of a close associate of Mr. Chautala, Dharamvir, in Panchkula, were also raided. CBI sources said that raids were carried out at the house of Mr. Chautala's former political adviser, Sher Singh Badshami, in Kurukshetra and of the bureaucrat, Vidya Dhar. CBI teams also raided the Teja Khera farmhouse belonging to the Chautalas in Sirsa district.

Mr. Chautala, who is convalescing in the PGI here after a surgery, refused to comment. However, his elder son, Ajay Chautala, MP, charged that the raids were "politically motivated".

The Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said that no external interference from any quarter was made in the CBI's functioning .

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