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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has arrested a Chhattisgarh resident for defrauding an amount of Rs 9.27 crore in connection with its ongoing probe into the Bharatmala Highway Land Acquisition Compensation case.
Jai Prakash Gandhi, a resident of Abhanpur in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district, was arrested on June 3 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. He was produced before the special PMLA court in Raipur, which has granted ED custody of the accused for three days. ED investigation revealed that Gandhi, in connivance with his family members and certain public servants, had acquired land falling within the notified highway alignment and subsequently fragmented the same into parcels measuring less than 500 square metres. The fragmentation was allegedly carried out with the sole intention of claiming enhanced compensation from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). It has been further revealed that by "adopting the aforesaid fraudulent modus operandi, the accused and his family members received compensation amounting to approximately Rs 9.83 crore against a legitimately payable amount of only Rs 56.76 lakh, thereby generating Proceeds of Crime of approximately Rs 9.27 crore." "Investigation has further revealed that the Proceeds of Crime were subsequently layered and integrated through investments in shares, mutual funds and other financial instruments," said the federal agency in a statement. ED's Raipur zonal office arrested the accused following its investigation initiated on the basis of First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Economic Offences Wing of Chhattisgarh relating to large-scale irregularities and fraud in the disbursement of compensation for land acquired under the Raipur-Visakhapatnam Economic Corridor project under Bharatmala Pariyojana. Earlier, ED had conducted search operations in the case on April 28 at various premises in Raipur, Abhanpur and Dhamtari districts, during which incriminating documents, digital devices and other evidence relating to the fraudulent acquisition of compensation were recovered and seized. ED said its investigation into the matter is continuing and the role of other beneficiaries, intermediaries and public servants involved in the conspiracy is under examination. (ANI)
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