The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the Yamuna Expressway scam, in which irregularities worth Rs 126 crore have been cited. Former CEO of the expressway firm P.C. Gupta and 20 others have been named in the FIR.
The Uttar Pradesh government had asked the agency to investigate the alleged scam over the Yamuna Expressway project for which large areas of land in Mathura were purchased. The state government alleged that the purchase had resulted in a loss of Rs 126 crore as the lands were purchased in seven villages in Mathura reportedly by Gupta and other officials at the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) at Rs 85 crore.
This land was later reportedly sold at a higher rate to the YEIDA, causing a loss of Rs 126 crore.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati had given the nod to the the 165-km expressway project, which connects Noida and Agra, in 2009. The succeeding chief minister Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party inaugurated the expressway in 2012.
(With inputs from agencies)
