New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Saturday that it recently conducted search operations at eight premises linked to various accused individuals based in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. The operations were part of a money laundering case linked to the illegal sale of Madhya Pradesh government land worth over Rs 151 crore.
During the search, a sum of Rs 26 lakh in cash, details of illegally acquired immovable properties, and various incriminating documents were recovered and seized.
The ED initiated the investigation based on an FIR registered in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, concerning the illegal alienation of lands owned by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. Sudhir Ratnakar Peter Das and others are alleged to have connived to transfer the land, originally given by the then ‘Maharaja of Dhar,’ Anand Rao Pawar, to Dr. (Miss) Margaret O’Hara of the Canadian Presbyterian Mission. The land was intended for establishing a women’s hospital and residential facility for doctors.
The ED’s investigation revealed that the accused individuals, in collaboration with each other, illegally transferred several acres of prime land belonging to the Government of Madhya Pradesh. The current market value of these land parcels is estimated to exceed Rs 151 crore. These lands were alienated and subsequently sold to various accused parties, resulting in a significant loss to the Government of Madhya Pradesh.
The official stated that further investigation in the matter is going on.
–IANS