NEW DELHI: Former New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) Chairperson P. M. Singh, two architects, an assistant engineer and the owner of the Centre Point hotel here and his wife have been named in a charge-sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday in connection with illegal regularisation of the hotel building.

According to the CBI, besides Mr. Singh, chief architect Tribhuvan Singh, architect N. K. Sharma, assistant engineer Subhash Chandra, holder of the general power of attorney of the hotel K. L. Bhatia and his wife Premlata Bhatia have been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption.

Earlier, the CBI had filed the first charge-sheet -- in connection with alleged illegal grant of health and lodging licence to the Centre Point hotel -- against Ms. Singh and four others including K. L. Bhatia on June 30. The case had been registered in this connection on July 9, 2003.

Investigations by the agency had revealed that a plot measuring 1.35 acres of land, later marked as 13 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, was originally given on perpetual lease to a barrister. Subsequently its ownership had changed a few times and it was last transferred in the year 1977 in favour of a business family.

However, in 1979, despite the property being a residential property, a hotel was started by its present owners.

Further investigations also revealed that the property had been strictly marked for residential purposes as per the zonal Master Plan of Delhi. In 1984, the owners raised a huge four-storey structure in place of the single-storey building and applied to the NDMC for its regularisation.

The NDMC rejected the building plan and eviction proceedings were initiated in 1986. But the process was not completed due to alleged dilatory tactics adopted by the present unauthorised occupants, the CBI said. Subsequently, in February 2003, a 60-room hotel was illegal authorised by the accused against pecuniary gains, the CBI charged.

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