Chandigarh, Nov 29 (IANS) Immovable property worth Rs 2.76 crore belonging to a patwari working in the Punjab government’s revenue department was attached by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, an official said on Saturday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Jalandhar Zonal Office, provisionally attached immovable property worth Rs 2.76 crore related to Chamkaur Lal under the provisions of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on Friday, the ED said in a statement.

The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, against the patwari under sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for amassing assets disproportionate to his income during April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2023.

The ED investigation revealed that Chamkaur Lal, while serving as a patwari in Dera Bassi and Kharar Tehsils of the Government of Punjab, had amassed assets disproportionate to the legitimate income of himself and his family members.

The investigation established that Proceeds of Crime were further invested in the purchase of immovable and movable properties.

The ED investigation further revealed that Chamkaur Lal routed illicit funds into accounts held by himself and his family members by disguising them as loans from relatives and acquaintances, thereby attempting to present these tainted funds as legitimate.

The investigation established that Chamkaur Lal had acquired disproportionate assets amounting to Rs 2.76 crore through Proceeds of Crime linked to the offences.

In a separate case, the federal probe agency provisionally attached 28 immovable assets valued at more than Rs 70 crore in the sensational liquor fake challan “scam”, which caused huge revenue loss to the Madhya Pradesh government.

The properties attached on Friday included prime land parcels and residential flats located in Indore, Mandsaur and Khargone belonging to several liquor contractors involved in the fraud.

The ED initiated a money-laundering investigation based on an FIR registered by the Raoji Bazar Police Station, Indore, against multiple country-made and foreign liquor contractors.

The accused devised a systematic modus operandi to cheat the state exchequer; contractors would prepare treasury challans for small amounts, and the column “Rupees in Words” was deliberately left blank. After depositing the lesser amount in the bank, they later tampered with the figure column and filled inflated amount in words on the bank’s copy, the ED said in a statement on Saturday.

–IANS

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