Land scam:CBI arrests 2 DDA officials,Malhotra aide in raids

New Delhi, Aug 17 (UNI) The CBI today arrested two senior DDA officials in connection with the multi-crore Delhi land scam case and recovered several incriminating documents during raids at 12 places in the national capital region.

The officials--A K Mishra, Deputy Director (OSB) and J R Gaud, Assistant Director (OSB)--were found to be involved in fraudulent allotment of land at Dheerpur Phase-I, a CBI statement said.

During investigation, it was also found that they have approved allotment of land in the names of fictitious persons, the agency said.

The CBI had last night arrested R S Sandhu, a close associate of Ashok Malhotra, the prime accused in the land scam who is already in CBI custody. Sandhu, who is the manager of the canteen run by Malhotra in the Vidhan Sabha, has been remanded to ten days' CBI custody.

Earlier in the day, the CBI conducted searches at 12 places in Delhi, Gurgaon, Palwal and Ghaziabad in connection with a case registered by it yesterday against six MCD officials and a private person. They had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy and fraudulently allotted a large number of plots in the names of fictitious persons in the re-settlement scheme of Molarband Phase-II. The MCD officials who have come under the scanner are S N S Sidhu, Director, Slum Upgradation and Rehabilitation, Phillip, Deputy Director in the same department, Sumerchand Garg, Assistant Director, Sher Singh, Assistant Engineer and Nanak Chand Khandelwal.

The searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of the FIR named accused persons and others.

During the searches, incriminating documents were seized and the accused persons have been directed to join investigation.

The re-settlement scheme at Molarband Phase-II involves around 600-700 plots, of which a large number are suspected to have been allotted during 2007 in the names of fictitious persons and thereafter illegally sold for wrongful gains.

UNI