Dehradun, February 18: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth approximately ₹13.89 crore in connection with the NH-74 road widening scam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. This action was taken based on evidence of fraud uncovered during an investigation linked to a First Information Report (FIR) filed at the Pantnagar Police Station in Udham Singh Nagar district.
The investigation revealed that individuals including Dilbag Singh, Jarnail Singh (son of Sundar Singh), Baljeet Kaur (wife of Pratap Singh), and Dalvinder Singh (son of Pratap Singh) had obtained backdated orders under Section 143 of the Uttar Pradesh Land Reforms and Land Acquisition Act, 1950. These orders were later registered in revenue records with the collusion of revenue officials and intermediaries.
As a result, they fraudulently secured an additional compensation of ₹26,02,83,930 for their land, which was taken at non-agricultural rates for the NH-74 widening project, causing significant financial loss to the government and undue benefit to the accused.
The PMLA investigation revealed that the illicitly acquired funds were used to purchase properties in the names of the accused or transferred to their and their relatives’ bank accounts. Following the identification of the properties linked to the crime, the ED issued a provisional attachment order for assets worth ₹13.89 crore, including land, buildings, and bank balances.
Previously, the ED had issued three provisional attachment orders in this case. Seven prosecution complaints have already been filed against various accused in the Special Court (PMLA) in Dehradun. This scam has been under investigation for a long time, revealing a conspiracy to provide excessive compensation at non-agricultural rates during land acquisition, resulting in a loss of crores to the government treasury.
The NH-74 (now part of NH-9) is a crucial highway in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, with land acquisition for its widening taking place in the 2010s. Revenue officials, farmers, and intermediaries were involved in the scam, which included showing agricultural land as non-agricultural through backdated orders to claim higher compensation. The ED’s investigation has uncovered multiple layers of money laundering, where illegal earnings were converted into assets.
Further investigations are ongoing, and the ED will continue to take stringent action against the accused while also proceeding to attach properties of other involved individuals.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.