Twenty places were raided, including 7 places in Lucknow, two in Meerut, one in Ghaziabad and nine in Noida. All spots targeted were offices and residences of government functionaries allegedly involved in the scam.

CBI officials said searches were conducted at the residential and official premises of certain officials of NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh Development System Corporation (UPDESCO), UP state government officials and others.

These include residences of former Noida CEO Dev Dutt Sharma in Raj Bhawan Colony and the Butler Palace residence of former UPDESCO Managing Director DS Pathik.

The CBI teams also conducted searches at the residences of former UPDESCO systems manager RS Singh in Khurram Nagar, former deputy manager VK Maurya’s residence in Indra Nagar, P C Yadav, Engineer of the land department of Noida Authority and the headquarters of UPDESCO, the government agency that had developed the software used to conduct the draw.

Files, CPUs, floppys and CDs have been confiscated from these places, sources said.

In Noida, a CBI team landed up at the Noida Authority’s office around 7 am and sifted through the files till late evening.

Only land department officials were present to assist the 16- member team.

In Lucknow, a CBI team arrived at the residence of DS Pathik around 11 am, conducted the search and left around 2.30 pm with several documents and computer discs. They took Pathik along for questioning.

It is alleged that certain officials of UP government, Noida and UPDESCO had manipulated the allotment of residential plots by falsifying the electronic record and altering the computer source code developed for the draw of lots, which was held on July 2, 2005.

The draw had led to an uproar. Many of the 1,250 plots had been allotted to politicians, mediapersons, bureaucrats and relatives of retired judges.

The allotments were cancelled and the matter went to the Allahabad High Court, which ordered a CBI inquiry.

The Supreme Court stayed the High Court order when the then Mulayam Singh government said it was ready to conduct the inquiry through its own agencies. But with the change of regime in the state, on June 1, the Mayawati government had formally recommended a CBI inquiry.

Taking note of the state government’s stand, the Supreme Court had dismissed the appeal filed by the Noida Authority against the High Court order, clearing the way for investigation by the CBI.