Chandigarh:
Retired Army chief Deepak Kapoor on Thursday met Defence Minister AK Antony to address allegations that he owns expensive properties in and around Delhi and Mumbai.
During the 30-minute meeting at the Defence Ministry in New Delhi, Kapoor is believed to have told Antony that he welcomed a probe into allotments and other complaints against the housing society.
The Defence Minister subsequently met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is believed to have apprised him on the progress made in the housing scam probe.
Last week, Kapoor said he would surrender his flat in Adarsh Society - a building in Mumbai's expensive Colaba area that is blowing the lid off a conspiracy between politicians, bureaucrats and senior Army officers to gift housing to themselves at huge bargains.
Kapoor says he didn't know that the massively-discounted flat he was allotted in a high-rise in Mumbai was meant for war widows and veterans. That could be construed as an oddity - Kapoor did after all serve as Army Chief.
Kapoor has been accused of owning a total of six properties in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Delhi's Dwarka district. In August, Ambica Banerjee, who is an MP of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, wrote to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, asking how the General afforded these assets. Sources in the Defence Ministry say Kapoor has told Antony that he welcomes a formal investigation.
Banerjee's formal letter of complaint states that in addition to the now-returned Adarsh flat, Kapoor owns a flat in Dwarka (a Delhi suburb), three houses in Gurgaon, and a penthouse in Lokhandwala in Mumbai. (Read: Does General Kapoor own five houses) Banerjee states that he has no documents to back these allegations, but that the information was given to him by a source he describes as a reliable government officer.
There's more. Kapoor was allotted a plot in Gurgaon by the Haryana government in June 2009. Kapoor paid merely Rs 36 lakh for it - because Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda carved it out of his preferential quota - which allows the Chief Minister to reward residents who have distinguished themselves through their service.
The rules state that those who are awarded these plots cannot sell them for five years. But six months after he was given his land, Kapoor wanted to sell - the plot by now was worth Rs. 1.5 crore. The Haryana government reportedly refused to permit this.
Kapoor told NDTV that he does not own any property other than the two-bedroom Adarsh Society flat that he has returned and the Gurgaon plot given to him by Hooda.
During the 30-minute meeting at the Defence Ministry in New Delhi, Kapoor is believed to have told Antony that he welcomed a probe into allotments and other complaints against the housing society.
The Defence Minister subsequently met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is believed to have apprised him on the progress made in the housing scam probe.
Last week, Kapoor said he would surrender his flat in Adarsh Society - a building in Mumbai's expensive Colaba area that is blowing the lid off a conspiracy between politicians, bureaucrats and senior Army officers to gift housing to themselves at huge bargains.
Kapoor says he didn't know that the massively-discounted flat he was allotted in a high-rise in Mumbai was meant for war widows and veterans. That could be construed as an oddity - Kapoor did after all serve as Army Chief.
Kapoor has been accused of owning a total of six properties in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Delhi's Dwarka district. In August, Ambica Banerjee, who is an MP of Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, wrote to the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, asking how the General afforded these assets. Sources in the Defence Ministry say Kapoor has told Antony that he welcomes a formal investigation.
Banerjee's formal letter of complaint states that in addition to the now-returned Adarsh flat, Kapoor owns a flat in Dwarka (a Delhi suburb), three houses in Gurgaon, and a penthouse in Lokhandwala in Mumbai. (Read: Does General Kapoor own five houses) Banerjee states that he has no documents to back these allegations, but that the information was given to him by a source he describes as a reliable government officer.
There's more. Kapoor was allotted a plot in Gurgaon by the Haryana government in June 2009. Kapoor paid merely Rs 36 lakh for it - because Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda carved it out of his preferential quota - which allows the Chief Minister to reward residents who have distinguished themselves through their service.
The rules state that those who are awarded these plots cannot sell them for five years. But six months after he was given his land, Kapoor wanted to sell - the plot by now was worth Rs. 1.5 crore. The Haryana government reportedly refused to permit this.
Kapoor told NDTV that he does not own any property other than the two-bedroom Adarsh Society flat that he has returned and the Gurgaon plot given to him by Hooda.
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