ED attaches assets worth Rs 5.54cr in money laundering case
Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Apr, 2022 12:21 PM
New Delhi, April 23 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached assets worth Rs 5.54 crore in a money laundering case.
A case in this connection was registered against Ranjit Gogoi, the then Director of Information and Public Relation, Assam, and different private companies, for alleged misappropriation of the state government's money.
The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of CM's Vigilance Cell FIR lodged in 2017 against the accused.
The ED learnt during the investigation that in connivance with Assam government officials and others, different companies were able to get the work order in "Vision Assam Mission Assam project", even though they did not have the required pre-qualification and laundered the proceeds of crime received by them.
The total proceeds of crime identified in the case till now is Rs 16.36 crore.
Rajendra Shetty a.k.a Bannanje Raja is involved in 44 serious criminal offences including murder, extortion and kidnapping. Authorities had issued an Interpol red corner notice against Bannanje Raja, and he was nabbed in Casablanca in Morocco. Later, he was extradited to Karnataka from there.
The case pertains to a blast that occurred in District Court Complex, Ludhiana on December 23, 2021 in which one person died and six persons were injured. Initially, a case was lodged by Lidhiana Police in 2021 and later the probe was taken over by the NIA in 2022.
The protest, which was led by BJP Yuva Morcha's national secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and its national president Tejasvi Surya, started around 10.30 a.m. from the IP College to the Chief Minister's residence.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on March 27 had announced that Central Civil Service Rules will be implemented for all employees under Chandigarh Administration. This decision has evoked sharp criticism from Punjab leaders who, cutting across party lines, termed it "an encroachment on Punjab's rights".
At a meeting with the Punjab Revenue Officers Association here, the minister assured representatives of the association that all their demands will be considered sympathetically, while asking them to immediately join their offices in larger public interest.