ED attaches Rs 86 lakh worth assets of Maoist’s kin

PATNA: In a first against any Maoist in the country, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has “permanently attached” Maoist veteran Sandeep Yadav’s movable and immovable properties worth Rs 86.05 lakh in Aurangabad, Gaya and Delhi.
ED sources said the properties were “provisionally attached” on February 1, 2018. “We received an order to attach the properties ‘permanently’ on Monday,” an ED official said on Tuesday, adding the assets were amassed through illegal means like extortion from businessmen, contractors and construction firms in Bihar and Jharkhand.

According to Bihar police sources, Sandeep helms the Bihar-Jharkhand special area committee of CPI (Maoist). He is wanted in 88 cases of violence lodged in different police stations and carries rewards of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, announced by the Bihar and Jharkhand governments respectively, on his head.

ED sources said the attached properties included two plots worth Rs 16.55 lakh and Rs 5.95 lakh at Shahpur and another plot worth Rs 15.31 lakh at Ratanua — all in Aurangabad town.

“The three plots are in the name of Sandeep’s wife Rajanti Devi, an untrained teacher at a government primary school in Gaya district’s Lutua panchayat,” the ED official said and added another attached plot worth Rs 1.57 lakh is at Banke Bazaar in Gaya and is registered in the name of Sandeep’s brother Dhanik who is also a Maoist.

Two sports bikes worth Rs 1.4 lakh and Rs 96,000, an SUV worth Rs 10.69 lakh and a tractor worth Rs 6.33 lakh were also attached. The bikes are registered in the names of Sandeep’s sons. While the elder son studies in a prominent private college in Patna, the younger one studies in a convent school in Ranchi, the sources said.

A flat at Dwarka in Delhi, booked by Sandeep’s son-in-law Gajendra Narayan by making initial payment of Rs 10.68 lakh, was also attached. The ED also attached cash deposits to the tune of Rs 13.24 lakh in 13 bank accounts.

According to the sources, properties worth Rs 77 lakh and Rs 68 lakh of Maoist leaders Pradyuman Sharma and Vinay Yadav respectively have also been “provisionally attached”.