Ranchi, July 13 (IANS) The ED attached immovable properties valued at Rs 3.87 crore of a construction company and its associates in connection with alleged extortion by the Maoists and related money laundering, an official said on Monday.

The assets were attached by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Ranchi Zonal Office, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Santosh Construction and its associates, the ED official said in a statement.

Those named by the ED include Santosh Kumar Singh, Mrityunjay Kumar @ Sonu Singh, Manish Kumar, Baijnath Ganjhu, Rajesh Kumar Ganjhu and Ravindra Ganjhu.

The ED investigation was initiated pursuant to two FIRs registered at Police Station Chandwa, District Latehar, Jharkhand, and subsequently re-registered and investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Arms Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

One FIR relates to a Maoist attack on November 22, 2019, at NH-75, Lukuiya More, Latehar, in which four Jharkhand Police personnel were killed, and arms/ammunition were looted, the ED said.

Another FIR relates to cash seizure of Rs 5 lakh as extortion/levy paid by Mrityunjay Kumar @ Sonu Singh, one of the partners of Santosh Construction, to Ravindra Ganjhu, the Regional Commander, Latehar, CPI (Maoist), a banned Naxal outfit.

The total Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated in this case from commission of scheduled offences has been quantified at approximately Rs 7.16 crore, the ED said.

The said POC was generated in cash, and out of the same, Rs 2.69 crore was recovered (in cash) by NIA during its search proceedings, and the remaining amount of Rs 4.46 crore was placed and layered in the form of capital infusions into the firm during FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19.

Investigation further revealed that the layered POC were integrated into the formal economy through acquisition of 11 immovable properties situated at Mouza Chandwa and Mouza Kamta, District Latehar, Jharkhand, in the names of Santosh Construction, Santosh Kumar Singh, Mrityunjay Kumar @ Sonu Singh and Manish Kumar, using a combination of undervalued sale deeds and off-the-books cash payments to circumvent banking scrutiny.

Accordingly, the ED has provisionally attached the aforesaid 11 immovable properties, valued at Rs 3.87 crore, as POC and property equivalent thereto under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.

–IANS

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