Maoist leader’s assets worth ₹86L attached

THE ATTACHED PROPERTIES INCLUDE THREE LAND PLOTS IN THE NAME OF HIS WIFE IN AURANGABAD AND TWO SIMILAR PLOTS IN GAYA IN BIHAR

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth ₹86 lakh of a top Maoist leader for violation of provisions of the money laundering act. This is the first such action against a Maoist operative.

Sandeep Yadav alias Vijay Yadav alias Rupesh Jee alias Badka Bhaiya, is in charge of the Madhya Zone of the Bihar-jharkhand Special Area Committee of CPI (Maoist) and ED’S action against him follows inputs from Bihar Police.

The attached properties include three land plots in the name of his wife, Rajanti Devi, in Bihar’s Aurangabad district, two similar plots in Gaya, and an advance payment amount of ₹10.43 lakh made by Yadav’s sonin-law to purchase a flat in Delhi’s Dwarka. Bikes, cars, bank deposits and mutual fund investments have also been attached.

There are 88 FIRS and charge sheet against Yadav and his brother Dhanik Lal, and they have been charged under various sections of the IPC, the Arms Act, and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, for offences such as kill- ing security forces, murders, extortion, among others. “Proceeds of crime have been laundered by collection of levy and investment of same in movable and immovable assets,” said ED.

The ED found that cash to the tune of more than ₹1.5 crore has been infused in several bank accounts and assets are held in the name of Yadav’s family members. Of these, properties valued at ₹86 lakh have been detected and attached by ED.

The agency said it is probing the involvement of Yadav and his kin for alleged laundering of demonetised currency. “Yadav’s son-in-law deposited cash in his bank account and Mandal (Yadav’s brother) made an attempt to launder demonetised currency of ₹15 lakh by way of depositing it in the bank account of a petty shopkeeper,” it said.