Bhopal, Oct 30 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties worth Rs 5.37 crore of the then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sironj Janpat Panchayat in Madhya Pradesh, for alleged financial irregularities linked to a government marriage assistance scheme between 2019 and 2021, an official said on Friday.
The ED’s Bhopal Zonal Office issued Provisional Attachment order against properties worth Rs 5.37 crore of CEO Shobhit Tripathi and his associate Hemant Sahu, the ED official said in a statement.
Earlier, searches were conducted which resulted in the recovery of various incriminating documents.
Tripathi was arrested on September 2 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and is currently under judicial custody, the ED said.
The order attaching properties was issued under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, in connection with a money laundering investigation relating to fraudulent disbursement of government funds under the Marriage Assistance Scheme, it said.
A Marriage Assistance Scheme was implemented by the Madhya Pradesh government for providing financial assistance of Rs 51,000 to women of registered poor construction workers, the ED said.
Tripathi, during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sironj Janpat Panchayat from 2019 till November 2021, in collusion with others, allegedly approved and disbursed government funds amounting to Rs 30.18 crore in respect of 5,923 suspicious marriage assistance cases.
The ED investigation was initiated on basis of FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Bhopal under Sections 420, 409 read with 120-B of the IPC, 1860, and Sections 13(1)(e) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Tripathi and others.
Investigation revealed that forged and fabricated application forms and credentials of ineligible beneficiaries were used to fraudulently obtain benefits under the scheme, the ED said.
Funds were transferred into bank accounts opened using the credentials of ineligible beneficiaries without their knowledge with the sole intent to transfer scheme funds in the said makeshift bank accounts and were immediately withdrawn in multiple tranches in cash, the ED added.
Benefits were also found to have been extended to ineligible persons during the Covid-19 lockdown period when public marriages were prohibited, the central agency said.
–IANS
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