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The controversy over land deals involving Robert Vadra has taken a new turn with senior Haryana Indian Administrative Service officer Ashok Khemka cancelling the sale of over three acre land to realty major DLF after he was shunted out from his post.
Khemka, who was removed as inspector general of registration in the wake of his ordering a probe into all the land dealings of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law in four districts of Haryana, has hit back at the government saying it was 'grossly unfair to punish him for being upright and exposing the scams'.
A 1991-batch IAS officer, Khemka, who claims that it is his 43rd transfer in 20 years, significantly ordered the cancellation of mutation of 3.5 acre plot of land in Manesar-Shikohpur that Vadra had sold to DLF for Rs 58 crores.
Late last week, pursuing a probe he had already initiated, Khemka issued a letter formally ordering an inquiry into the 'alleged undervaluation of some properties registered by Shri Robert Vadra or his companies as vendor or vendee'.
The letter also took note of allegations by activist Arvind Kejriwal against Vadra. As the issue hotted up and the Haryana government came under attack over its action, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said transfer is a prerogative of the government.
If his assertions made with regards to the land deals are found to be true, action will be taken against anyone found guilty, he said.
In his letter to state Chief Secretary P K Chaudhery, Khemka said it seemed to be a 'deliberate and malafide' action to punish him due to 'some vested elements' in the political-bureaucratic hierarchy 'affected by the exposure of the scam in consolidation of land under the garb of exercise of powers'.