Daijiworld Media Network - Raipur
Raipur, Mar 16: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 23.35 crore in connection with an alleged land acquisition compensation scam linked to the construction of the Raipur-Visakhapatnam National Highway under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.
According to officials, the ED’s Raipur Zonal Office found evidence of a criminal conspiracy involving land brokers, private individuals and certain government officials to fraudulently obtain inflated compensation for land acquired for the highway project.
The investigation revealed that Rs 27.05 crore was siphoned off by Harmeet Singh Khanuja and his associates. Out of this, assets worth Rs 23.35 crore have been identified as proceeds of crime and provisionally attached under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The probe was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau Chhattisgarh under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. A chargesheet was later filed before the Special Court in Raipur against Khanuja and others.
Investigators found that after a land acquisition notification issued on January 30, 2020 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, land parcels were fraudulently subdivided by falsifying and backdating revenue records to artificially increase the compensation payable.
Khanuja allegedly worked with associates including Khemraj Koshle, Punuram Deshlahare and Kundan Baghel to persuade landowners to sign documents such as affidavits, applications and revenue records. With the help of certain officials, these records were manipulated to show additional subdivisions of land.
Based on the altered records, compensation amounts far exceeding the legitimate entitlement were released to the landowners’ bank accounts. However, investigators found that multiple bank accounts were opened in the names of landowners, and large portions of the compensation were later transferred to accounts linked to Khanuja, his relatives and entities under his control.
Authorities said the transfers were carried out using pre-signed blank cheques and banking documents obtained from the landowners, leaving them with only the legitimate compensation or a marginally higher amount.
The ED said the investigation is continuing and further action may follow as the agency examines additional financial transactions linked to the case.