CBI conducts raids on Chautala's properties

The Central Bureau of Investigation today conducted raids at 24 places in six states and UTs against former Haryana chief minister Om Prakash Chautala for allegedly amassing property worth over Rs 1,400 crore.

It took the CBI six years to raid Chautala's house, apparently in the wake of significant progress in probe into the Junior Basic Teachers (JBT) recruitment scam.

The matter was brought to light in 2000 by IAS officer Sanjeev Kumar who charged that he was forced by Chautala to replace the original lists of 3,206 selected JBT teachers with a fake one.

Kumar, who filed a case in the Supreme Court, said when he did not do as told by Chautala, the government instituted departmental inquiries and vigilance cases against him.

The officer had also submitted a set of candidates' lists, which he claimed were fake, to the court.

According to reports, places where raids are being carried include Sirsa - the native place of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader - and his official residences in Delhi. One of the properties raided is 600-acre land in Udham Singh Nagar.

The CBI also recovered arms licences for 17 weapons from a farmhouse in Mehrauli, sources said.

A CBI spokesman said the assets that were disproportionate to Chautala's known sources of income were "phenomenal" and would require an extensive and indepth investigations.