Mumbai: The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) court on Tuesday granted permission to Nagpur-based lawyer Satish Uke and his brother Pradeep Uke, who were arrested in March last year over allegations of money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), to attend rituals after their father’s death.
The court has restrained them from going anywhere other than the place where rituals are to be held. Their father died on November 10 in Nagpur. The brothers being the only sons, were allowed to attend the funeral of their father to perform last rites. The two now have approached the court to perform rituals to be done after 40 days of the death which is scheduled between November 21-26.
The court allowed their plea and also relieved them from paying escort charges, which now would be at the cost of the government. However, the court has restrained them from using the internet, mobile, laptop, computer or any gadgets or contacting any witness of the prosecution case during this period.
Besides, the court said that in case of any health issues or any other problem during this period it would be their own responsibility. Meanwhile, the ED has been asked to keep vigilance on the two brothers and deploy a staff for them. In case of any violations, the court has asked ED to immediately inform the court.
An FIR was filed in 2022 by Mohammed Jaffer, the nephew of the late Mohd Samad, the owner of a five-acre plot at Mouza Bokhara in Nagpur stating that the Uke brothers had fraudulently acquired the land by creating fake documents. They were accused of cheating and forgery amounting to ₹2 crore. However, the brothers claimed to have purchased the land for less than ₹1 crore. While registering the offence, the ED cited three previous FIRs, including those from 2018 and 2017, alleging cheating, as predicate offences.
