INDIA. Mumbai: Choudhary Lal Singh, son of former Minister and two-time MP Saran Singh, has been arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) for acquiring land in Jammu and Kashmir beyond the permissible limit.
Singh, arrested on Tuesday, has been remanded to ED custody until November 15 by the Special PMLA court in Jammu.
The investigation was initiated by the ED based on an FIR and chargesheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), CBI Jammu, against Kanta Andotra (wife of Singh and Chairperson of RB Education Trust) and Ravinder Singh (the then Patwari).
Singh, in connivance with a revenue official, forcibly transferred government land in 2011 to RBET, with a portion used for a DPS School. RBET acquired 328 kanals of land, exceeding the permissible limit of 100 standard kanals.
In another case, the ED arrested K K Abraham, former President of Pulpally Service Co-operative Bank in Wayanad, Kerala, under PMLA 2002. Abraham is charged with conniving in a loan fraud by overvaluing properties and sanctioning loans to applicants.
The investigation began based on an FIR filed by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Wayanad, against the Governing Body members and bank officials of PSCB.
The excess loans, given without the knowledge of the loanees, resulted in a loss of Rs. 5.62 crore to the bank.
Abraham shared 10% profit from the ill-gotten money invested in ginger farming in Karnataka with Sajeevan Kollappallil, who withdrew the funds and siphoned them off.
Abraham, arrested under PMLA Section 3, knowingly assisted Kollappallil in acquiring proceeds of the crime.
In a separate case, the ED attached immovable properties worth Rs. 11.82 crore in possession of Estevan D’Souza, Moses Fernandes, and Samir Korgaonkar.
They are accused of land-grabbing by impersonating owners of properties where the legal heir had died without a successor or was residing outside India.
The ED investigated based on FIRs filed by Porvorim Police station and the Economic Offence Cell (EOC), Goa.
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