E-Paper
ED attaches properties worth ₹4.58 cr of former Punjab forest minister Dharamsot
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached properties to the tune of ₹4.58 crore of former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, one of the accused in the forest scam during Congress regime from 2017-2022 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
Jalandhar : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached properties to the tune of ₹4.58 crore of former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, one of the accused in the forest scam during Congress regime from 2017-2022 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The ED arrested Dharamsot on January 15 after it initiated an investigation against the former minister on the basis of a first information report (FIR) registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
An ED official said the properties attached by the investigating agency are owned by Dharamsot and his sons under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
“The attachment includes four immovable properties consisting of two residential plots, a constructed residential house and a residential flat in Punjab along with immovable/movable properties, including bank balances and investments in mutual funds,” an ED official said.
ED investigation under the PMLA revealed that Dharamsot, during the check period from 2017-2022, which included his tenure as the forest minister in the then Congress government of Punjab, acquired assets disproportionate to his and his sons’ known sources of income.
“During investigation conducted by the ED, it was found that Dharamsot acquired disproportionate assets through the proceeds of crime relating to the scheduled offences to the tune of ₹6.34 crore. Further investigation is on in the matter,” the official said.
Dharamsot was on the ED radar ever since the registration of an FIR by the VB against him. The agency also carried out multiple raids on the premises of Dharamsot and other forest officials.
Dharamsot was the first former minister to be arrested by the VB during the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for allegedly taking kickbacks to issue permits to cut trees, transfer officials, make purchases and issue no-objection certificates, on June 7, 2022.
The Congress leader remained in jail till September 6, 2022, before securing a bail.
On February 7, 2023, the VB again arrested him for amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. He was out on bail in both the cases.
In the VB investigation, forest department contractor Harminder Singh Hummy had disclosed in his statement recorded under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act that he had been maintaining a handwritten diary regarding bribes given to senior officers of the forest department and political leaders since 2017. The diary was recovered from his place. The perusal and investigation into the contents of the diary revealed the modus operandi of the culprits which led to their arrests.
In his statement, Hummy said he paid ₹500 for felling of each khair tree to Dharamsot. He obtained permits for cutting 7,000 trees for the October-March season for which he had to pay of ₹1,000 per tree, which includes payment of ₹500 to Dharamsot, ₹200 to divisional forest officer and ₹100 each to range officer, block officer and forest guard, respectively, the contractor had said in the statement recorded under the Evidence Act.
The investigation further revealed that former minister used to get alleged bribe of ₹10 to ₹20 lakh for the transfer of DFO, ₹5 to ₹8 lakh for ranger, ₹5 lakh for block officer and ₹2 to ₹3 lakh for forest guard through his OSD.
