A letter from the ED headquarters in Sector 18, Chandigarh, was received by the office of SSP (UT).
The Enforcement Directorate took up the investigation of the infamous property grabbing scandal, concerning a property in Sector 37 here, under various provisions of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
At least nine people have been accused of the alleged scandal, of whom journalist Sanjeev Mahajan, liquor tycoon Arvind Singla, UT police inspector Rajdeep Singh, brother of a sitting DSP, Satpal Dagar, Gurmeet Singh, Khalendra Singh Kadiyan and Ashok Arora are lodged behind bars. Meanwhile, one of the builders who was earlier arrested in the case, Manish Gupta, has been granted bail.
Probing the matter, the ED has sought information about the bank accounts, and movable and immovable properties, specifically related to Sanjeev Mahajan and others from the UT Police.
It has also sought a copy of the detailed chargesheet filed in the court against the accused, along with the current status report of the investigation in the property grabbing scandal. A letter from the ED headquarters in Sector 18, Chandigarh, was received by the office of SSP (UT).
A police officer said, “ED has sought information on four accounts. First, current status of the FIR registered against the accused at PS 39; second, certified copy of the chargesheet/final report in the case along with the list of witnesses and relied upon documents; third, details of bank accounts of the accused other than Sanjeev Mahajan in the FIR, if any; and fourth are the details of the movable/immovable properties of the accused other than Sanjeev Mahajan in the FIR, if any.” The information was sought under Section 54 of the PMLA, 2002.
As per police investigation, around nine properties including a shopping complex spread in around 250 sq yards at Attawa village, a ground floor house in Sector 37 and a flat in Sector 38, an SUV, a plot in Kaimbwala village, a motel in Attawa village and two booths in Sector 41, among others, were found linked to Sanjeev Mahajan. Sources said the ED urged the UT Police to provide the information within 10 days of the receipt of the letter.
The accused in the case allegedly kidnapped one Rahul Mehta of Sector 37, with the intention to grab his triple-storey house in 2018. Later, they sold the house for Rs 2.05 crore and Mehta was left abandoned at a stud farm in Bhuj, Gujarat. Police later found him at a shelter home in Rajasthan.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
