Agency awaits reply from DC Kathua office
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 6: The Enforcement Directorate is completing legal formalities for attachment of some assets of former Minister and Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party (DSSP) supremo Lal Singh under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) registered against him in land dispute at RB Educational Trust Kathua headed by his wife and former MLA Kanta Andotra.
“The Enforcement Directorate is reportedly awaiting certain replies from the office of the Deputy Commissioner Kathua pertaining to the land,” sources said, adding the process for attachment of the property has been initiated.
However, only those assets, or part of the assets, will be attached which are established as proceeds of an illegal act.
Sources said the case is being carefully studied and will be examined by the legal experts before attachment orders are issued.
They added that tomorrow is crucial day for both the Enforcement Directorate as well as Choudhary Lal Singh as the anticipatory bail granted to him by the court is listed for arguments. The ED is likely to plead for cancellation of anticipatory bail on the ground that Lal Singh is required to be arrested in the case.
Meanwhile, Lal Singh appeared before the Enforcement Directorate again today for questioning in connection with a case against the Educational Trust run by his wife and former legislator Kanta Andotra.
Scores of Singh’s supporters led by his wife Andotra assembled outside the agency office and staged a protest against the ED summons to their leader, claiming that he is spotless and is being deliberately harassed at the behest of the BJP.
Singh, the chairman of the Dogra Swabhiman Sangathan Party, reached the agency office in Narwal at 10 am for questioning for a second time in three days, sources said. ED sleuths had questioned him earlier on Saturday.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate had conducted searches in Jammu and its adjoining areas as part of a money laundering probe against the educational trust of Andotra and a former Government official in connection with alleged irregularities in land purchase to set up the trust.
The federal agency had raided about eight premises in Jammu, Kathua and Punjab’s Pathankot in the case against RB Educational Trust, its chairperson and Ravinder Singh, a former Revenue official besides others.
The money laundering case stems from an October 2021 charge sheet filed by the CBI in this case which alleged criminal connivance in the issuance of land between January 4 and January 7, 2011, without mentioning details in respect of violation of the ceiling limit of 100 standard kanals imposed under Section 14 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976, thereby giving undue pecuniary advantage to trust.
Based on this, the Trust acquired multiple pieces of land of about 329 kanals vide three gift deeds executed on January 5 and January 7, 2011, the CBI charge sheet claimed.
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