ED attaches assets worth Rs 8 crore in PMLA case

New Delhi (IANS) | The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 8 crore of the then Naib Tehsildar of Punjab, Varinder Pal Singh Dhoot, in a money laundering case. ED officials gave this information on Friday. The ED had initiated the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on the basis of an FIR registered by the Vigilance Bureau Punjab under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

A charge sheet was also filed by the Vigilance Bureau in the case against Dhoot and others. Dhoot was arrested by the ED on April 20. At present he is in judicial custody.

According to media reports, it was alleged that revenue officials and others had wrongly allotted shares of panchayat land totaling over 99 acres in Sionk village of Punjab.

The land was allotted in the name of ineligible persons and in some cases outsiders. The attached properties include residential complexes located in Chandigarh and Hoshiarpur.

The ED said that investigation has revealed that Dhoot and others had wrongly allotted panchayati land in Sionk village in the names of six villagers. After this, private property dealers obtained power of attorney. The dealers, in connivance with the revenue officials, sold the panchayat land to ineligible villagers and some outsiders.

During the investigation, bank accounts maintained by Varinder Pal Singh Dhoot in the name of him and his family members were scrutinized and unexplained credits of over Rs 15 crore were found, including cash credits of around Rs 8 crore.

The ED said that during the investigation it has also been revealed that Dhoot received money from friends and relatives of the ultimate buyer or beneficial owners of panchayat land in the bank accounts of his relatives. Moreover, most of the sale of panchayat land was transacted in cash.

–IANS