IAS officer who cancelled Vadra-DLF deal gets threat calls

CHANDIGARH: Senior Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who cancelled a Rs 58-crore real estate deal between realty major DLF and Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, is getting death threats from anonymous people, a close friend of Khemka claimed.

"He told me that he has received some phone calls in which people asked him to stop his activities or he would be eliminated," Khemka's friend and senior lawyer Anupam Gupta told IANS

"Those threatening him also say that they have given a supari (underworld contract) to eliminate him," Gupta said.

Ashok Khemka, an IAS officer in Haryana's Land Registration Department, was transferred for cancelling 'the mutation of a 3.531 acre plot of land in Manesar-Shikohpur' which Vadra had sold to DLF for Rs 58 crore back in 2009.

Khemka was shunted out as Director General of the Haryana Seed Development Corporation, just a few days after he ordered an investigation, on October 8, into the controversial land lead.

Claiming that there were irregularities in the transfer of the said land from Vadra's Sky Light Hospitality Private Limited to DLF, Khemka - just before he left office -- had ordered the cancellation of the mutation on October 15.

Vadra's company, which bought the controversial land on the Manesar-Gurgaon road in February 2008 and got a housing colony licence for it from the Haryana government just a month later (in March), later entered into a sale deed with realty giant DLF to sell it for an amount of Rs.58 crore.

Vadra's company got the Rs.58 crore from DLF in instalments between June 2008 and July 2012.

As per the sale deed, Vadra's company got Rs.5 crore from DLF in June 2008, Rs.10 crore in March 2009, Rs.35 crore in October 2009 and Rs.8 crore in July 2012. The entire amount received was Rs.58 crore.

In a letter to Haryana's chief secretary, Khemka objected to his latest "abrupt transfer". He sought the reasons for his sudden transfer.

Khemka has been transferred nearly 40 times in his 21 year career.

Khemka cancels DLF-Vadra deal

The immediate fallout of the mutation cancellation would be that DLF would not be able get the title of the prime land, measuring over 3.5 acres, transferred to its name. The land will remain in the name of Vadra's company M/s Sky Light Hospitality. The land was sold to DLF Sep 18 this year though the agreement to sell was executed in June 2008.

Documents in possession with IANS show that Khemka had Oct 8 initiated a probe into the land deals done by Vadra and his companies in four districts of Haryana adjoining Delhi. He was transferred just three days later by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government as as managing director of the Haryana Seeds Development Corp, considered a junior and side-line posting.

On Oct 12, one day after his transfer, Khemka directed the deputy commissioners of four districts near Delhi - Gurgaon, Mewat, Faridabad and Palwal - to inspect all documents of land deals by Vadra and his companies from 2005 to present to probe under-valuation of property to evade stamp duty. He sought a report on this by Oct 25.

In his order dated Oct 15, Khemka stated that the mutation was being cancelled on the ground that it violated the Consolidation Act as it was done by the assistant consolidation officer and not by a designated revenue officer. Khemka also pointed out that other officials had not gone by the rules in allowing the registration of the prime plot in DLF's name. (With inputs from Agencies)

This has been what Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal have been fighting against.

Such blatant misuse of authority to earn money.

I would suggest the case is handed over to the Supreme Court to monitor the case as otherwise the Congress government in collusion with the BJP, CBI and the Haryana government will scuttle all investigations.

Further, Mr. Khemka be given Z class security as we fear he may be bumped of by Congress hired assassins.