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Source
TOI
Author
Mahesh Buddi
Date
City
Gurgaon

Twelve out of 90 newly elected assembly members in Gurgaon face criminal charges, including serious accusations under UAPA and corruption acts. Prominent parties like BJP and Congress have candidates with such backgrounds among the winners. Additionally, 97% of these legislators are crorepatis, with the wealthiest being Independent candidate Savitri Jindal, who declared assets worth Rs 270 crore.

Twelve out of 90 candidates, who won the assembly polls, are facing criminal charges, which include those under UAPA and Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT Act). According to an analysis of the declared criminal cases in candidates' affidavits by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), six contestants from BJP (7%) and 17 (19%) from Congress have criminal cases registered against them.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda has 8 cases registeted against him and charges were framed in two of them.

Of the six from BJP, three candidates — Dhanesh Adlakha (Badhkal), Anil Yadav (Kosli) and Vinod Bhayana (Hansi) — have won the polls. Also, of the 17 Congress candidates, six —Mamman Khan (Firozpur Jhirka), Kuldeep Vats (Badli), Naresh Selwal (Uklana), Gokul Setia (Sirsa), Jarnail Singh (Ratia) and Ram Karan (Shahbad) — have been elected to the assembly.

Two Independent candidates — Devender Kadyan from Ganaur and Rajesh Joon from Bahadurgarh— are also facing criminal charges. Among the MLAs with criminal records, Khan has been named in four cases for his alleged links to 2023 communal riots. Four cases were registered against the legislator on August 1, a day after the riots.

In his affidavit, Khan declared that UAPA sections have been added to a FIR in one of the four cases. Among other winners from Congress, Ram Karan from Shahbad constituency was convicted in 2008 for charges under NDPS Act and Arms Act in Shahbad police station in 2005. His plea against the conviction has been pending before the Punjab and Haryana high court since 2008.

Ratia MLA Jarnail Singh and Uklana legislator Naresh Selwal of Congress were booked in corruption cases registered by state vigilance bureau (SVB) — now called anti-corruption bureau (ACB) — in Hisar in 2016. HC has stayed filing of chargesheet and arrest of the accused and a plea against the case is pending before the HC.

Similarly, Sirsa MLA Gokul Setia was named an accused in two cases of assault, kidnapping and Arms Act registered in Sirsa. However, the chargesheet has not been filed in the case. Badli MLA Kuldeep Vats has been booked in an assault and rioting case registered at Bilaspur police station in the city in 2010, but charges have not been framed in this also.

Among BJP legislators, Badhkal MLA Dhanesh Adlakha and Hansi MLA Vinod Bhayana are facing charges under Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act registered by SVB in Hisar in 2016. Adlakha is also linked to a cheating and forgery case registered at Faridabad Central police station. Kosli MLA Anil Yadav had two cases registered against him under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act at a Rewari police station. Charges were not yet framed against any of the legislators.

Among the Independents, Ganaur MLA Devender Kadyan has been booked in a case filed under Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act and another case booked under Trade Mark Act. Bahadurgarh MLA Rakesh Joon is facing a case registered under PCPNDT Act in 2021. However, chargesheets have not been filed in these cases.

Around 97% of the newly elected legislators are crorepatis, and the richest among them is Savitri Jindal — an Independent candidate — who won from Hisar.

The percentage of crorepati MLAs increased from 84 (93%) in 2019 to 87 (96.6%) in 2024. Jindal, with declared assets worth Rs 270 crore, is followed by Kalka BJP MLA Shakti Rani Sharma with assets worth Rs 145 crore and Tosham BJP MLA Shruti Choudhry with Rs 134 crore.