Punjab: Extortion-linked money laundering case: ED attaches assets worth ₹1.29 crore of ex-AIG Kapoor
Ashish Kapoor, a former assistant inspector general (AIG) of police, was arrested by the vigilance bureau in 2022 for allegedly taking a bribe worth ₹1 crore
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday attached assets worth ₹1.29 crore of a former Punjab Police officer as part of an alleged extortion-linked money laundering investigation being conducted against him.
The action has been taken against Ashish Kapoor, a former assistant inspector general (AIG) of police, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the federal probe agency said in a statement.
In October 2022, the vigilance bureau arrested Kapoor under the Prevention of Corruption Act in a 2016 case for allegedly taking a bribe worth ₹1 crore.
Kapoor was arrested for committing offences under Sections 7, 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended by the PC (Amendment) Act, 2018 and 420, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Based on this FIR, the federal agency initiated a probe into the matter. Meanwhile, Punjab Police also registered the case of extortion with other relevant sections against Kapoor and others in 2019 and 2022.
“The money laundering case stems from two Punjab Police FIRs filed against Kapoor on charges of alleged extortion from two persons while they were in police custody and later in jail. It was alleged that the officer ‘received’ cash and gold jewellery from the accused and their family members,” ED said in a statement.
In June 2023, VB again arrested Kapoor for corruption and for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
The VB booked Kapoor and his wife in a corruption case after allegations of acquiring unaccounted assets were proved in an inquiry.
He was arrested a day after he was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana high court in the bribery case.
The VB then stated that during the investigation, it was found that between August 1, 2017, and August 31, 2022, the accused acquired unaccounted immovable and movable assets in his wife’s name in Chandigarh and Mohali.
A VB spokesperson said that in 2020, Kapoor purchased a plot in Sector 88, Mohali, for ₹90.16 lakh. On the said plot, a luxurious two-storied house with modern amenities was constructed between 2020 and 2022 at an estimated cost of ₹2 crore, the spokesperson added.
Similarly, in 2022, he bought a plot in New Chandigarh, Mohali, for ₹34.13 lakh, besides a three-room flat in Sector 63, Chandigarh, for over ₹2 crore, the VB probe found.
It was found that Kapoor and his wife had a total income of ₹2.44 crore from their known sources, while their total expenditure during the same period amounted to ₹5.6 crore, the VB spokesperson added.
