CBI files chargesheet against Chatuala's sons
After three years of probe, CBI on Thursday filed a chargesheet against the two sons of former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and was awaiting a nod from the state assembly Speaker to charge the father as well in a disproportionate case
The chargesheet was filed here in the designated court against Ajay Chautala and Abhay Chautala for allegedly having assets 339 per cent and 522 per cent more than their known sources of income.
The CBI also sent a report to Haryana Speaker for obtaining permission for prosecuting Om Prakash Chautala. "Chargesheet will be filed against the former Chief Minister for alleged possession of assets more than his known sources of income once the requisite persmission from the Speaker was received," a CBI spokesperson said.
According to the chargesheet against Ajay, CBI claimed he was in possession of assets to the tune of Rs 27.74 crore --339 per cent more than his income Rs 8.17 crore during the period of 1993 to 2006.
The second chargesheet was filed against Abhay alleging his assets were 522 per cent more than his income of Rs 22.89 as per Income Tax records during the check period of 2000 to 2005. The agency claimed to have found Rs 119.69 crore worth of assets.
CBI had registered a case in a designated court here in April 2006 and searched 24 premises of the Chautalas in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Chandigarh during which it had sezied cash of Rs 13 lakh and froze five bank accounts containing Rs 1.34 crore belonging to Chautala and his family members.
The investigating agency's FIR listed the moveable and immoveable properties belonging to either Chautala or his family members that had been acquired between July 1999 and March 2005 when they were public servants.
The FIR alleged Chautala and his family members had plots at prime locations in Gurgaon in Haryana, Karol Bagh in Delhi, Manali in Himachal Pradesh, Nainital in Uttarakhand and Chandigarh besides a hotel and a restaurant in upmarket Karol Bagh, a shopping mall, six plots of agricultural land, six farm houses and cash and jewellery worth Rs 50 crore.
CBI had conducted a market survey and claimed in its FIR filed in April that the total value of all the properties was Rs 1,467 crore.
CBI stumbled upon the assets belonging to Chautalas during the searches it carried out on April seven, 2005, in connection with alleged malpractices in recruitment of school teachers in Haryana, a case handed over to the agency by the Supreme Court.
CBI had claimed the assets disproportionate to Chautala's known sources of income were "phenomenal" and would require an extensive and in-depth investigation.
