Another accused arrested in Rs. 126cr Yamuna Expressway land scam
The Gautam Budh Nagar Police yesterday arrested another accused in the Rs. 126 crore Yamuna Expressway land scam. Sanjeev Kumar Singh, a lawyer and a native of Bulandshahr, was held for his alleged involvement in the land fraud case linked to the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA). This is the fourth arrest in the last five days in the five-year-old case.
21 people named in FIR, five arrested so far
Singh's arrest is the fifth overall arrest in the case, in which 21 people including a former IAS officer, who also served as the YEIDA chairman, were named in the FIR, a senior officer said. "Singh was the director of three firms, Data Infrastructure, ANG and Himalaya, and was involved in the fraud," Circle Officer, Greater Noida First, Nishank Sharma confirmed.
'Singh had invested Rs. 70 lakh in the fraud deals'
"For ANG, he had got seven to eight land registries done in his name while personally, he had invested Rs. 70 lakh in the fraud deals," Sharma said. According to the police, the accused YEIDA officials, including a former CEO, in a tie-up with some private firms had purchased around 57 hectares of "useless" land in 2014 from seven villages of Mathura.
Compensation amount was higher than what authority defined for purchases
The purchase was made in lieu of compensation to their owners by the authority. But the compensation amount was much higher than what was defined by the authority for such purchases. The accused not only caused loss to the YEIDA but also made personal gains fraudulently, the police said. In June, YEIDA submitted a complaint regarding the issue at Kasna Police Station, Greater Noida.
Accused IAS officer was held in July from Madhya Pradesh
YEIDA filed the complaint over the alleged land fraud in 2013-2014. One of the accused is a former IAS officer P C Gupta, who was also the chief executive officer of YEIDA during the time the case transpired. Gupta, who was appointed to the post in 2013, was held in June this year from Datia in Madhya Pradesh.
Two directors of builder's firm, middleman were arrested last week
The Circle officer further said that two directors of a builder's firm and a middleman were held last week in relation to the case. Police are probing the land scam case and will soon ensure the arrest of the other accused, Sharma said.
