SURAT: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested senior BJP leader PVS Sarma under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case related to cheating and forgery worth Rs 2.70 crore on late Thursday night. The accused was produced before the special PMLA court in Ahmedabad where he was granted ED custody till December 2.
The ED officials had started investigations under PMLA on the basis of the FIR registered by the Umara police station under section 465, 468, 471, 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and pursuant to the investigation by the Income Tax department against Sarma.
Investigations revealed that Sarma, director of M/s Sanket Media Private Limited, was involved in the printing and publishing of the newspaper Satyam Times, in Gujarati and English languages. Though the circulation of the Gujarati newspaper was shown at 23,500 and English newspaper at 6,000 copies, it was found that the circulation was only around 300 for Gujarati and 200 for English newspaper.
The circulation figures were inflated to get more advertising agencies including the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) and other private companies to publish advertisements in the newspapers.
Official sources said that Sarma used Sanket Media Private Limited to conspire and cheat the government and private companies. For this purpose bogus purchase of raw materials was shown by making false entries in the books of accounts from bogus companies and by creating fake documents.
ED officials said that the further investigation into the case was on.