New Delhi [India], February 6 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at six places in Arunachal Pradesh in the Trans-Arunachal Highway compensation scam case, which pertains to large-scale irregularities in assessment, certification and disbursement of land-acquisition compensation involving public servants and private beneficiaries, resulting in generation and laundering of proceeds of crime.
Officials said the raids are being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act at the residential premises, including those of the then Deputy Commissioner, District Land Records and Settlement Officer (DLRSO), assessment officials and key private beneficiaries and conduits, with the objective of securing documentary and digital evidence and identifying movable and immovable assets acquired from proceeds of crime.
Of the six premises, four are located in and around Itanagar, one at Likhabali (near Dibrugarh) and one at Aalo, close to the Mechuka-China border. The search locations span the western and eastern parts of Arunachal Pradesh, covering border-adjacent areas and challenging hill terrain, including remote and sensitive locations.
During the search, Rs 2.2 crore in cash was found at one of the fake beneficiary premises.
The project covered a stretch of 157.70 km, administratively divided into Yachuli (0.00-43.635 km), Ziro (43.635-63.700 km) and Raga (63.700-149.440 km) sectors.
During the investigation, officials said they found that the Deputy Commissioner, Ziro, initially prepared a compensation estimate of Rs 289.40 crore for the entire Potin-Bopi stretch. "However, in a state-level meeting, the compensation package was frozen and restricted to Rs 198.56 crore in total."
"During the disbursement, huge funds were diverted to savings accounts, and many cheques issued to fake beneficiaries resulted in a loss of Rs 44 crore approximately to the exchequer."
ED investigation has revealed that the officials involved knowingly and intentionally abused their position to generate proceeds of crime by preparing and certifying inflated and fictitious assessments of structures in the Yazali sector of the Trans-Arunachal Highway (Potin-Bopi) project. They facilitated the insertion of non-existent structures and ineligible beneficiaries.
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