New Delhi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday said that they have attached three land parcels worth Rs 161.64 crore situated at Chesire Home Road, Pugru and Siram in Ranchi land scam case involving IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan.
ED has also filed a supplementary chargesheet in the matter.
It said that these land parcels have been mutated fraudulently in favor of land mafias in connivance with the officers of Land and Revenue Department.
The ED had initiated investigation in three land scam cases based on multiple FIRs registered by Jharkhand Police and West Bengal Police against Pradip Bagchi, Bishnu Kumar Agarwal, Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others under various sections of IPC.
ED said that a huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by mafia is going on in Jharkhand.
“These criminal elements used to forge the legacy records in Kolkata and Ranchi. Ownership records of land have also been forged by the unscrupulous government officers to extend favors to the said land mafia. Subsequently, on the basis of forged land records, such land parcels are sold to other persons,” ED said.
The ED had earlier carried out 41 searches and five surveys and various incriminating evidences such as forged seals of Land and Revenue Department, forged land deeds, records of distribution of proceeds of crime among them, photographs of forgery, evidences of giving bribe to Government officials etc. were seized.
Earlier, ED had attached three land parcels worth Rs. 74.39 Crore (commercial value) in another land scam case. With the current attachment, the total attachment in land scam cases reached to Rs 236 crore.
Till date, 14 accused namely Pradip Bagchi, Afshar Ali, Saddaam Hussain, Imtiaz Ahmed, Talha Khan, Faiyaaz Khan, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Chhavi Ranjan, IAS (Ex DC Ranchi), Dilip Kumar Ghosh, Amit Kumar Agarwal, Bishnu Kumar Agarwal, Rajesh Rai, Bharat Prasad and Prem Prakash have been arrested and are presently in judicial custody.
Earlier, a prosecution complaint was filed in June.
ED said that further investigation in underway.
IANS
