Dehradun, Feb 18 (IANS) The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Dehradun Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties valued at Rs 13.89 crore in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation linked to the alleged NH-74 widening scam in Uttarakhand, the agency said on Wednesday.
The action was taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of efforts to identify and attach proceeds of crime generated through fraudulent land compensation claims.
The ED initiated its investigation based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered at Pantnagar Police Station in Udham Singh Nagar district under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, relating to alleged irregularities in land acquisition compensation.
During the course of investigation, the ED found that the accused persons, including Dilbagh Singh, Jarnail Singh, son of Sunder Singh, Baljeet Kaur, wife of Pratap Singh, and Dalvinder Singh, son of Pratap Singh, had allegedly fraudulently obtained back-dated orders under Section 143 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, 1950.
These back-dated orders were subsequently incorporated into official revenue records at later dates in alleged collusion with revenue officials and middlemen, thereby altering the classification of agricultural land.
Based on these manipulated documents, the accused persons allegedly received excess compensation amounting to Rs 26,02,930 for land acquired for the widening of National Highway-74. The compensation was calculated at non-agricultural rates, even though the land was originally classified as agricultural land, resulting in alleged financial loss to the government and unlawful gains to the accused.
The ED’s investigation under the PMLA revealed that the proceeds of crime were either retained in the names of the accused persons or transferred to bank accounts of their relatives and associates in an attempt to conceal the illicit funds.
Following identification of the proceeds of crime, the agency issued a Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) attaching assets worth Rs 13.89 crore, comprising both movable and immovable properties linked to the accused and their associates.
This is the fourth provisional attachment in the case, as the ED has already issued three earlier Provisional Attachment Orders in connection with the same investigation.
The ED has also filed seven prosecution complaints against various accused persons before the Special Court (PMLA) in Dehradun as part of the ongoing legal proceedings in the matter.
Officials said that the investigation is continuing to trace additional proceeds of crime, identify other beneficiaries, and establish the full extent of the alleged fraud and collusion involving land acquisition and compensation processes.
–IANS
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