ED seizes railway engineer's disproportionate assets worth Rs 3.44 cr in Patna

In a disproportionate assets case, the Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 3.44 crore belonging to a senior section engineer (SSE) of Jamalpur Railway Workshop and his family members under the relevant section of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"According to an official statement issued by the Patna zone of ED on Monday, the accused Chandeshwar Prasad Yadav was arrested in 2017-18 for allegedly embezzling condemned wagons and scrap of Eastern Railway's Jamalpur Railway Workshop," the Enforcement Directorate informed.

According to the agency, while in ED custody from September 15 to 19, the accused admitted that he and Devesh Kumar, owner of Shri Maharani Steels Patna, embezzled the condemned waggons and scrap.

Railway engineer's disproportionate assets worth Rs 3.44 crore

The agency seized five immovable properties worth Rs 1.19 crore, seven mutual fund investments worth Rs 35.85 lakh, four insurance policies worth Rs 7.97 lakh, 29 FDs worth Rs 1.64 crore, and the accessible bank balances of his family members Urmila Devi, Bharat Bhushan, and Shashi Bhushan.

The probe was based on the FIR filed by the CBI and the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Patna. According to the investigation, Yadav and his family members got a massive cash deposit of Rs 2.37 crore (Rs 2,37,96,990) in his bank accounts. "Further investigation is underway," the ED said.

ED monitoring railway engineer

On August 13, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Dewesh Kumar, the owner of Shree Maharani Steel, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (2002). Kumar is accused of stealing condemned waggons, wheelsets, and other excluded fittings from the Eastern Railway Jamalpur workshop. The entire worth of these misappropriated vehicles, wheelsets, and excluded equipment is estimated to be around Rs 34 crore. 

The ED launched its probe in response to an FIR filed by the CBI and the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Patna. The FIR was filed in response to a complaint letter provided by Eastern Railway's senior deputy general manager and vigilance officer. The complaint was filed against Shree Maharani Steels in Patna, unknown Eastern Railway personnel in Jamalpur, and unknown private individuals. This embezzlement was found during a preventive check undertaken by the Eastern Railway's vigilance section.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: @JamalpurWorkshop/Facebook/PTI)