The ED initiated the investigation based on FIRs registered by Bhadrak district police (File)
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches at 10 locations in Bhadrak and Bhubaneswar districts of Odisha in connection with a money laundering case involving Prayaskanti Samal, the son of former Odisha minister Prafulla Samal.
The ED initiated the investigation based on FIRs registered by Bhadrak district police under various sections of the IPC and the Explosive Substances Act.
The probe revealed that Prayaskanti Samal and others from the Barapada School of Engineering and Technology (BSET) society were involved in misappropriating society funds through forgery and cheating.
As per the ED, Prayaskanti Samal, along with other members of the society conspired to embezzle the funds and used the same for sale and purchase of landed properties acquired in the name of the BSET for their personal monetary gain with the help of forged or fabricated documents.
During the search operations, a total amount of Rs 9 lakh lying in cash along with a Toyota Fortuner car worth Rs 35 lakh were seized. Further various incriminating documents including undated cheques and land agreements and digital devices have also been seized from various premises.
In another mega search operation conducted in Rajasthan, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at several locations in Jaipur, Ajmer, and Nagaur under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 in connection with the case involving hotelier and mining businessman Meghraj Singh Shekhawat.
During the search operations conducted by ED on Wednesday, cash of Rs 37.16 Lakh, various incriminating documents, digital evidence, mobiles and laptops etc., were recovered and seized, ED officials said.
Meghraj Singh Shekhawat is allegedly linked to an illegal mining case.
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