Enforcement Directorate questions Motilal Vora, Bhupinder Hooda in the Associated Journal case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has questioned senior Congress leader Motilal Vora and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection with its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the allotment of a plot to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), publisher of the National Herald newspaper, in Panchkula in 2005.
Officials said while Mr Vora (88), the national treasurer of the All India Congress Committee, was questioned two days back at his residence, in New Delhi, Mr Hooda was also questioned during the same time in Chandigarh.
The central agency has recorded the statements of the two Congress leaders under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. They were also confronted with some documents seized and recovered in this case, officials added.
Mr Vora was questioned in the case in his capacity as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Associated Journal Limited (AJL), they added.
The ED questioned Mr Vora at his residence making a special concession in this regard owing to his old age and his request to be grilled at home.
The agency, early last year, had filed a criminal complaint and booked Mr Hooda, AJL officials and others on charges of alleged money laundering, taking cognisance of a Haryana State Vigilance Bureau FIR.
The vigilance Bureau had registered a case of cheating and corruption against Mr Hooda and four officials who were in HUDA for allegedly re-allotting a plot to AJL in Panchkula in 2005. Mr Hooda had then termed the action as "political vendetta" and said there was no wrong doing.
The vigilance case that was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections, including criminal breach of trust by a public servant, cheating, criminal conspiracy and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, was made against Mr Hooda, the then Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) chairman, an ex-officio post held by him as the Chief Minister, and four other top officials of HUDA on May 5 this year.
The plot had been initially allotted to AJL in 1982. After the expiry of the lease period in 1996, then Haryana Vikas Party government led by Bansi Lal took back its possession. It was re-allotted to AJL after the Congress leader came to power in 2005.
The Vigilance Bureau had alleged that the act by the then HUDA chairman and the officials had caused a huge financial loss to HUDA as the plot should have been sold through open auction instead of being allotted again to AJL.