New Delhi:
The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday alleged that Uttrakhand Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat along with some others “hatched a conspiracy” to “usurp” two land parcels in Dehradun whose market value is about Rs 70 crore.
The federal agency said in a statement that it has provisionally attached the two plots measuring 101 bighas, located at Sahaspur in the said district, after an order was issued on January 20 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The registered value of the land is Rs 6.56 crore but its current market value is more than Rs 70 crore, it said.
Mr Rawat, 64, is a former forest minister of the state. He had quit the BJP ahead of the 2022 Uttarakhand Assembly polls and joined the Congress.
He could not be immediately contacted for his comments on the attachment order.
The money laundering case stems from an Uttrakhand Police FIR filed against Birendra Singh Kandari, a “close associate” of Rawat, and some others.
The ED claimed that despite the “categoric order” of a court, which had cancelled the sale of the lands, the late Sushila Rani “in conspiracy” with other persons registered two powers of attorney (POA) in the name of Kandari and Narender Kumar Walia (for these land parcels).
These lands were sold by Kandari to Rawat’s wife Deepti Rawat and one Laxmi Rana, by using the power of attorney, against an “insignificant” amount which was much below the circle rates prescribed by the government revenue authority, the agency said.
The land purchased by Deepti Rawat is now part of Doon Institute of Medical Science (DIMS), which is run under Smt. Poorna Devi Memorial Trust. Deepti Rawat is the chairperson of this Trust.
The Trust is “controlled” by the family and friends of Harak Singh Rawat, the ED alleged.
“Deepti Rawat and Laxmi Rana managed to register the said lands in their name with the conspiracy hatched by Birendra Singh Kandari, Harak Singh Rawat, late Sushila Rani and other persons,” it said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
