The Hindu : New Delhi News : CBI raids 41 places in and around the Capital

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Saturday, Jul 29, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

CBI raids 41 places in and around the Capital

Staff Reporter

Alleged nexus between MCD engineers, builders and politicians

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday raided 41 places in and around the Capital in connection with cases registered to investigate alleged nexus between engineers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, builders, property dealers and politicians. The cases were registered following preliminary inquiries by a task force constituted by the CBI on the Delhi High Court's directive to investigate the nexus that allegedly led to large-scale violations of building by-laws and land grabbing in the Capital.

According to the CBI, the offices and residential premises of more than a dozen MCD engineers, including five executive engineers, six assistant engineers and six junior engineers, 12 builders and several others were raided simultaneously through the day. Apart from several documents relating to immovable assets, the CBI also claimed to have seized Rs.50 lakhs in cash during the raids. A senior CBI official, however, said the cash might or might not be directly related to the cases being investigated.

The CBI had earlier initiated 17 preliminary inquiries and registered cases, under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, in five of them. More cases are likely to be registered.

Investigations had revealed that Uppal's Orchid, which claimed to be a five-star eco-hotel adhering to "eco-friendly sensitivity", was constructed on unauthorised land. The MCD had apparently taken note of it and also "completely demolished" the hotel but only on paper, the CBI said.

"There are similar cases where the officers concerned have made false notings in their files and also attached forged documents to purportedly show that demolition of an unauthorised has been duly carried out," said the officer.

In another case, two builders, Jai Kishan Gupta and Anil Gupta, had bought a 500-square-metre plot of land from the MCD at Dilshad Garden for residential purposes. They constructed 30 flats and sold them for crores of rupees to unsuspecting buyers. In this case too, the MCD had shown the structure as demolished. The accused in this case had even paid demolition charges. But on the ground, no demolition team went to the site, the CBI said.

The CBI said most of the cases pertained to violations of building by-laws. There were few cases of land grabbing that have come to light. In some of these cases, the MCD had also taken action against the erring engineers and either suspended or dismissed them. Investigations so far have not revealed the direct link of any politicians with the builders, engineers and the property dealers. However, the CBI has not ruled out the possibility of their names figuring in investigations at a later stage.

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