Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): ED arrested former CEO of Sironj Janpad and an accused in the Kanya Vivah rip-off, Shobhit Tripathi, on Saturday.
Tripathi remains an accused in swindling Rs 30 crore in Kanya Vivah Yojana when he worked as CEO.
After EOW filed an FIR, ED also registered a case. A case has also been registered against computer operators Hemant Sahu and Yogendra Sharma.
The probe agency arrested Tripathi and presented him before the Bhopal court. He will be on ED remand until September 9.
From 2019 to 2021, 5,923 cases of Kanya Vivah, meant for registered construction workers, came to light. Each beneficiary was shown receiving financial aid of Rs 51,000.
A sum of over Rs 30 crore was paid. An MLA from Sironj, Umakant Sharma, raised the issue in the assembly.
An inquiry revealed that most of the weddings remained fake, and ED sifted through the bank accounts to probe money laundering.
ED sleuths exposed how fake documents were prepared to transfer money to banks.
The accused also prepared fake application forms in the name of beneficiaries. Money was transferred to banks through forged documents. They also withdrew the money as soon as it reached the bank accounts.
When mass weddings did not take place anywhere because of Covid-19, nearly 5,000 young men and women were shown tying the nuptial knot.
EOW arrested Tripathi and his accomplices, but they were out on bail. After the issue came up in the Vidhan Sabha, the government suspended Tripathi.
