Rs 66 cr worth properties of Bharat Papers attached
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 22: The Enforcement Directorate today conducted raids at multiple locations of Revenue Department officials and others in connection with money laundering probe linked to grabbing of Custodian land.
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The raids were conducted at 10 locations in Jammu and Udhampur districts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during which documents mostly pertaining to land, bank accounts and other investments were examined and the requisite papers besides certain electronic gadgets were seized.
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The Revenue officers whose premises were searched by the Enforcement Directorate sleuths include Pranav Dev Singh and Rahul Kai, both Patwaris and Akeel Ahmed, Naib Tehsildar among others for committing offences under Sections 120-B, 420, 467, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 and Sections 7, 13 (1) (a) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
As per the sources, the case relates to land grabbing and corruption involving Custodian land i.e. the land belonging to evacuees from Pakistan occupied Jammu Kashmir (PoJK) in Jammu, during 2022 onwards.
Subsequently, other First Information Reports (FIRs) in respect of grabbing of other Custodian land patches were recorded by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (Central), Jammu and Kashmir Police, which have been taken up for PMLA investigations by the Enforcement Directorate.
“The houses and other premises of Revenue Department officers and others were searched simultaneously by teams of the Enforcement Directorate in Jammu and Udhampur districts in presence of Magistrates and witnesses and protection by police and paramilitary forces,” the sources said.
During the raids, they said documents pertaining to land scam and investments of the officers in banks and other financial institutions were examined and some of them were seized for scrutiny. Besides, electronic gadgets including mobile telephones, laptops etc were also examined and some of them were seized.
Sources disclosed that based on the amount earned by the Revenue Department officers through corrupt means in the land scam, their properties will be identified for attachment by the Enforcement Directorate.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Enforcement Jammu Sub Zonal Office has provisionally attached several immovable properties worth Rs. 66.77 crore (approx.) in the case of M/s. Bharat Papers Limited under PMLA. The provisionally attached properties comprise factory land & building of M/s. Bharat Papers Limited and two residential houses of Directors/ relative of Directors of the company.
The ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by CBI, ACB, Jammu, against M/s Bharat Papers Limited and its Directors namely Anil Kumar, Parveen Kumar, Baljinder Kumar and Rajinder Kumar, sons of Late Jagdish Chander for defrauding consortium of banks led by State Bank of India to the tune of Rs 200 crore on the basis of complaint filed by the then DGM, Stressed Asset Management Branch, State Bank of India, Ludhiana, Punjab.
The investigation further revealed that M/s Bharat Papers Limited and its Directors did not use the loan amount for the intended purpose for which the loan was sanctioned. However, the funds were diverted through bogus/shell entities and bank accounts opened outside the consortium of Banks. Further, the loan funds were also siphoned off by way of cash withdrawals directly from the loan accounts. Machine parts from factory unit of M/s Bharat Papers Limited were also stealthily removed and sold without the knowledge of the banks, an official statement issued by the ED said.
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