The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at several locations, including Vasai, Virar, and Nalasopara near Mumbai, on Wednesday morning, May 14, linked to illegal building construction and registered a money laundering case. As per The Indian Express report, the central investigation agency searched 13 locations linked to the construction business.
ED officials visited and searched 13 suspected locations linked to builders and their henchmen under the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC). Mumbai ED (Zone 2) registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar Police Commissionerate in connection with the illegal construction of residential and commercial buildings in the Vasai Virar area.
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The case was registered against the construction of illegal 41-storey residential-cum-commercial buildings in Agarwal Nagar in Nalasopara East, which are on 6 acres of land that is a sewage treatment plant and a dumping ground. The project was passed by showing forging approval documents and prepared fake agreements for sale by developers and henchmen.
As per the ED, 41 illegal buildings constructed between 2010 and 2012 were demolished by VVMC at the direction of the Bombay High Court. 2,500 families lost their homes after the demolition.
The FIR filed at the Achole Police Station a few years back alleges that former VVMC corporator Sitaram Gupta, his brother, and their accomplices allegedly acquired 30 acres of land belonging to private owners and an additional 30 acres of land reserved for a dumping ground and a sewage treatment plant and sold it to various developers after acquiring fake ownership documents.