There’s more to Malhotra than meets the eye: CBI

NEW DELHI: Barely 24 hours after arresting Ashok Malhotra, the alleged kingpin in the multi-crore-rupee land scam, the CBI suspects the accused could be involved in some more land scams. 

“We have found documents that suggest he (Malhotra) could be involved in two more land scams. We have summoned five officials of the Delhi Development Authority for questioning,” said a senior CBI official.

“We have decided to question Malhotra and the DDA officials with all our findings to find the truth,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, a lower court remanded Malhotra on Tuesday to a 14-day police custody.

The CBI had sought some time from the court to find out his alleged nexus with politicians and bureaucrats involved in land scams.

“We will not spare anyone. All those officials and politicians whose names come up during investigation would be questioned and punished,” the officer said. 

He added that sleuths from the Income-Tax department had been roped in to find out details of how Malhotra managed to amass so much wealth in a span of just 20 years.

The CBI cracked down on Malhotra and his alleged land dealings after the Delhi High Court received an anonymous letter alleging large-scale bungling in the rehabilitation of people living in slums.

The CBI registered a case against Malhotra on July 24, but the raids began only on July 27, allowing the accused to flee. Malhotra, however, surrendered at a news channel’s office on Monday.