3rd accused arrested in Rs 126 crore land scam case in YEIDA
Greater Noida: Continuing with their crackdown on those responsible for land scam worth Rs 126 crore in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), the Gautam Buddh Nagar police on Friday have arrested the third accused in the case who has been identified as the co-director of one of the companies formed to conduct the scam.
According to the police, the arrested accused has been identified as Satendra Chauhan, a resident of Ghaziabad. He was one among the 21 persons named in the FIR.
"Acting on a tip-off, the police team conducted raids and arrested the accused from Ghaziabad. He is also a co-director of Data Infrastructure Pvt Limited, a company formed to allegedly carry out the scam. He was on the run for the past six months since the matter came to light. He has been produced before an anti-corruption court and has been sent to judicial custody for ten days. Meanwhile, we have formed police teams who are conducting raids at suspected locations to nab the other accused in the case," said Nishank Sharma, Circle Officer-1, Greater Noida.
Earlier on Thursday, the police arrested the second accused Ramesh Bansal, director of Data Infrastructure Pvt Limited from his residence in sector 44 of Noida.
The land scam was carried out in 2014 when the then YEIDA CEO and IAS officer PC Gupta along with his nephew, wife and relatives allegedly formed seven fake companies which first acquired 57.17 hectare land from farmers at cheaper rates and then YEIDA bought the land at an inflated price in Mathura that actually had no utility.
Later in June 2018, Dr Prabhat Kumar ordered a probe into the matter based on a complaint. The police also registered a case against 21 persons including IAS PC Gupta on June 3 when irregularities were found in the probe and directions were issued by the Chairman and former Commissioner.
Gupta has already been arrested by police from Datiya district of Madhya Pradesh. After Friday's arrest, 18 persons involved in the case are still on the run.
