In a recent crackdown on irregularities in road construction, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) froze bank deposits amounting to Rs 2.93 crore and confiscated Rs 23.50 lakh in cash from locations in Rewa and Jabalpur districts of Madhya Pradesh. The ED’s Bhopal Zonal Office conducted search operations on June 19 as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the submission of fake bills for Bitumen in government road projects.
During the searches, incriminating records such as property documents, digital devices, and Rs 23.50 lakh in cash were seized. Additionally, bank balances and fixed deposits totaling Rs 2.93 crore were discovered and frozen. The ED’s probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 was initiated based on FIRs filed by the Madhya Pradesh Police’s Economic Offence Wing in Rewa and Jabalpur.
The investigation uncovered a scheme where contractors, in collusion with public servants from the Madhya Pradesh Rural Road Development Authority Project Implementation Units, fraudulently obtained government payments for road construction work by submitting falsified invoices for asphalt/bitumen projects. The contractors allegedly forged invoices from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) amounting to Rs 55.60 crore, leading to financial losses for the government.
In a separate development, the ED’s Bhopal Zonal Office filed a Supplementary Prosecution Complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 against Sunil Kumar Tripathi and others on June 17 in a case involving the production of adulterated dairy products. The accused are alleged to have substituted milk fat with palm oil and other harmful substances. The Special Court (PMLA) in Bhopal has issued notices to the accused for their appearance.
The ED’s investigation, based on FIRs from the Habibganj Police Station and the Economic Offences Wing in Bhopal, targeted directors, officials, and individuals associated with Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt Ltd (JGFPL). Earlier, the ED provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 23.59 crore in this case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Kishan Modi, the Managing Director of JGFPL, and Sunil Kumar Tripathi, the former CEO, were arrested under the same provisions and are currently in judicial custody.
