New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached assets worth Rs 21.96 crore under the anti-money laundering law in an alleged corruption case pertaining to the widening of the NH-74 in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
According to a statement issued by the ED here on Tuesday, the provisional order for attachment of the assets has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The attached properties belong to special land acquisition officers, land owners, farmers and middlemen.
The assets include agricultural and industrial land, commercial plots and buildings located in Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand and Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh. Deposits in 11 bank accounts and mutual funds have also been attached, said the ED.
The ED said it initiated the probed under the PMLA in the case on the basis of an FIR and chargesheet filed by the Uttarakhand Police against Dinesh Pratap Singh, revenue officials, farmers and middlemen. Mr Singh and Anil Shukla, officials working in the capacity of competent authority of land acquisition then, entered into a conspiracy with other public servants, farmers and middlemen for misappropriation of government funds by granting compensation at non-agricultural rate, the ED said.
The compensation at non-agricultural rate is much higher than the agricultural rate, it said.
“The higher compensation was paid on the basis of back dated order passed under section 143 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari and Land Reform Act, 1950 for changing the land use from agriculture to non-agriculture and subsequent back dated entries in revenue records and documents, “ it said.
