Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable, immovable properties worth Rs 21.96 crore belonging to a Special Land Acquisition Officer, land owners, farmers and middlemen under the provision of Prevention Of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a corruption case relating to widening of NH 74, an official statement said here on Tuesday.
The attached assest include 36 immovable properties consisting agriculture ,industrial land, commercial plots and buildings situated at Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand and Rampur District of Uttar Pradesh while the movable properties consisting of 11 Bank account deposits and Mutual Funds.
The federal financial probe agency move comes after the registration FIRs and charge sheet filed by the Uttarakhand Police against Dinesh Pratap Singh and other Revenue Officers,officials, farmers and middlemen wherein it was revealed that that DP Singh and Anil Shukla, the then SLAO’s working in the capacity of Competent Authority of Land Acquisition entered into conspiracy with other public servants, farmers and middlemen for misappropriation of government fund by way of granting compensation at non agriculture rate which is much higher than agricultural rates.
“The higher compensation was paid on the basis of back dated order passed under section 143 of Uttar Pradesh Zamindari and Land Reform Act (UP ZA & LR Act ) for changing the land use from agriculture to non-agriculture and subsequent back dated entries in revenue records,documents and projected the forged,back dated documents as genuine at the time of distributing the compensation which resulted in loss of Rs 215.11 crore to the government treasury”, the probe agency said.
Investigations under PMLA conducted so far have revealed that the farmers,land owners who had got higher compensation had utilised the excess amount in buying the immovable property, making deposits in bank and giving commission to Revenue officers and officials, the ED further said.
Further investigation in this case is under progress, the agency added.
