The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has requested a five-day remand of two businessmen, Kolkata-based Amit Agrawal and Dilip Ghosh, for questioning in relation to the illegal sale of 4.55 acres of land, currently under the possession of the Army in the Morabadi area of Ranchi. Agrawal is known as a power-broker. The duo has been accused of creating a fake owner of the Army-possessed land and selling it to Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Private Limited (JTEPL), of which Ghosh is the director. The central agency has alleged that JTEPL was a front company of Agrawal for acquiring and laundering his proceeds of crime.
The ED has arrested Agrawal and Ghosh under Section 19 of the PMLA Act and produced them before the special PMLA court for argument on the remand period. The court has sent both the accused to jail and will hear the argument on the remand period on Friday. ED further said that during questioning, the accused had withheld crucial facts related to the scam and might cause hindrances in the investigation. The interrogation is necessary to ascertain the money trail and the role of other persons involved in laundering the proceeds of crime. A large amount of data has been collected and may be tempered with if the accused were not interrogated soon.
The then Ranchi deputy commissioner, Chhavi Ranjan, reportedly assisted the accused in acquiring the property by overlooking the records available at his office. ED has claimed that cash deposits in JTEPL’s IDFC bank account and transfers to companies owned by Agrawal indicate that the tea company is a front organisation of the businessman for acquiring and laundering his proceeds of crime.
Overall, the ED has requested a five-day remand of the duo for further questioning in relation to the scam, which involves illegal land sales. The central agency claims that the accused were withholding important facts during questioning, and that they might create hindrances in the investigation.
