Former Punjab Police Inspector's assets worth Rs 1 cr attached by ED
Darpan News Desk IANS, 08 Jun, 2023 10:23 AM
New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said that they have attached immovable property worth Rs 1 crore belonging to former Punjab Police Inspector Inderjit Singh, along with a fixed deposit of Rs 32.42 lakh, in connection with a money laundering investigation.
The ED initiated a Prevention of Money Laundering Act investigation, based on an FIR and charge sheet filed by the Punjab Polce's Special Task Force against Inderjit Singh and others under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, Arms Act, and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
"Singh had arrested a drug smuggler in an NDPS case. He then exerted pressure on the accused's family through his associates. Later, he acquired ownership of the accused's residential house in the name of a relative of his accomplice. In exchange, Singh promised to assist in securing bail," an ED official said.
Further investigation revealed that Singh also received illegal gratification of Rs 39 lakh in cash from the smuggler's family members through his accomplice, to avoid filing another case against the smuggler and his family under the NDPS Act.
The attached immovable property mentioned above was directly acquired by Singh as a result of the scheduled offense.
Additionally, proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 39 lakh in cash were generated by Singh as illegal gratification.
"Therefore, the ED has attached movable property in the form of a fixed deposit of Rs 32.42 lakh as an equivalent value in lieu of the 'Proceeds of Crime' generated in cash and the immovable property located in Amritsar as direct 'Proceeds of Crime'," the agency official said.
The police had earlier arrested K. Harish and J. Malathy, who were also directors of the company. Five more people are still at large in the multi-crore cheating case carried out by the company in the state.
Two Covid-19-related deaths have also been reported in the same time span. The positivity rate of the city has risen to 13.79 per cent. The number of active cases stands at 806 out of which 452 patients are being treated in home isolation.
Lakhimpur Kheri Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Santosh Gupta, said that one staff member was also found Covid-positive during a contact tracing exercise on Sunday after which the entire campus has been turned into a quarantine centre by the Health department. This is the highest number of new Covid cases reported in a district in a day this year.
During thorough search of the area on Monday, BSF troops recovered six packets, containing 6.27 kg heroin, inside a bag lying in the fields near the village. A motorcycle was also found nearby.
According to the police, a 67-year-old man had filed a complaint with the cyber police station in Shahdara district wherein he alleged that on March 18, he had received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number in which a girl was performing some obscene act.
The accused -- 19-year-old Rohit Kumar and 26-year-old Kamal -- are residents of Sitapur. During interrogation, Rohit told police that the truck driver Harpinder, 60, originally from Faridkot district, tried to harass him sexually under the influence of alcohol.
