The Haryana government on April 21 said that Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to investigate the transfer of land done between Skylight Hospitality (Robert Vadra’s company) and DLF Universal Limited (a real estate major) was still actively probing the matter and reports surrounding ‘clean chit’ are fabricated.
Robert Vadra is the son-in-law of the Congress Party’s former president Sonia Gandhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made the alleged irregularities in the land deal during the then Congress regime in Haryana a major poll issue in 2014. It was the 1991-batch IAS officer, Ashok Khemka, who had, in 2012, cancelled the mutation of a land deal between Skylight Hospitality and DLF.
“..reports claiming “clean chit” given by the Special Investigation Team constituted to investigate the transfer of land done between M/s Skylight Hospitality to M/s DLF Universal Limited as fabricated and beyond facts,” said an official government statement.
According to a statement from the Police Department, the matter is still under active investigation. “The SIT is still obtaining more relevant documents and also examining a number of individuals connected with the case. The focus of SIT’s investigation is not limited to just probing the revenue loss, rather the investigation aims to expose all those who are involved in the criminal conspiracy with the motive of giving high financial gains to certain individuals, and of quid pro quo involving underhand dealings,” said the statement.
The statement added that a report (in Punjab and Haryana High Court) has been submitted by the Tehsildar Manesar (Gurugram), and as per the report it is stated that M/s Skylight Hospitality sold 3.5 acres to M/s DLF Universal Limited on 18.09.2012 and this transfer of land has been done in accordance with the Indian Registration Act, 1908 and no regulations-rules have been violated in the said transaction — this report of the Tehsildar is erroneously being presented as a ‘clean chit’.
The statement said that the Punjab and Haryana High Court is monitoring the investigation in the cases involving MPs and MLAs, and in this connection, the progress reports are being regularly submitted to the Court. “The progress report in case FIR No 288/2018 (Gurugram) was also a part of the comprehensive reply filed by the State in the matter and is incorrectly being construed as a clean chit,” it added.
The 2018 FIR was registered on the complaint of Surinder Sharma, a resident of Nuh, in which he alleged irregularities in the land deals. The Congress party, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Robert Vadra have always denied any wrongful conduct.
Mr. Vadra, in a post on his Twitter handle, said he was “happy to see a ray of hope in the report given by the Haryana government to the court clearing that there were no wrong doings in my business transactions”. He said he had always “worked honestly”, but “false accusations from the BJP never stopped”. “Their agencies raided my companies even breaking walls assuming things were hidden in them,” said Mr. Vadra.
“I do hope this does not happen to anyone else...a vindictive method of politics is toxic for the country,” read the post.
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