The Prevention of Money Laundering Act Adjudicating Authority has confirmed the attachment of a Panchkula property worth more than ₹64 crore by the Enforcement Directorate in a case against the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and others.
The land was “illegally” reallotted to the company, which runs The National Herald , when Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the Haryana Chief Minister.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, the plot was originally allotted to the AJL in 1982. However, as construction work was not undertaken in compliance with the conditions of the allotment, the land was taken back by the State government in October 1992. The cancellation became irreversible after a revision petition was dismissed in 1996.
After Mr. Hooda became the Chief Minister, he allegedly misused his office and got the land reallotted in August 2005.
