Raipur: In a disproportionate asset case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India has attached assets worth Rs 5.45 crore of an ex-chief engineer of water resources department, Chhattisgarh.
The department took the action against Ramanand Divya while it was investigating a money-laundering case related to him, the ED said on Friday.
The attached properties including agricultural land, plots located in Raipur, Bilaspur, Korba and Janjgir-Champa districts of Chhattisgarh and Rs 55.95 lakh in bank deposits, the ED official communique said.
The central investigating agency took action in the case while it was probing a case filed by the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau.
A probe found that "immovable properties were purchased in the name of Priyadarshini Divya, wife of Ramanand Divya, while some were in the name of the former government officer himself".
"The properties were acquired through various ways of money laundering. In a few cases, the property was purchased directly in cash or through cash deposits in their own bank accounts as well as that of relatives," the ED alleged.
The funds were routed through the bank accounts of relatives and persons with meagre sources of income in the form of gifts or unsecured loans, ED said.
It claimed that an amount of Rs 2.13 crore was paid in cash for purchasing properties, apart from another cash amount of Rs 66 lakh in the registered sale deeds for different properties that were acquired by the Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) in lieu of compensation.
"The source of these cash transactions is unexplained in the hands of the accused and his family members," ED said in its statement.
