ED probes Ashok Leyland for selling BS-IV vehicles despite ban
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it was probing the role of Ashok Leyland, flagship company of Hinduja Group, in a case related to alleged sale and fraudulent registration of BS-IV non-compliant vehicles.
The agency statement came after it attached the assets of companies linked to a former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislator in connection with the case.
However, a spokesperson of Ashok Leyland responded to the statement saying the investigation is not against the company but against a “third-party scrap dealer” and that the company was “compliant with all emission requirements”.
In its statement, ED said it has attached assets worth ₹22.10 crore belonging to
Diwakar Road Lines and Jatadhara Industries Pvt Ltd — controlled by former TDP MLA J C Prabhakar Reddy; C Gopal Reddy and Company, belonging to Prabhakar Reddy’s close aide Gopal Gopal Reddy; a civil contractor from Tadipatri in Andhra Pradesh; and their family members.
Prabhakar Reddy is currently the chairman of the Tadipatri municipality located in Anantapur district of the state. He had represented the Tadipatri seat as an MLA of the TDP.
The case emanates from a Supreme Court ruling of March 29, 2017, in which the apex court ordered that vehicles not compliant with BS-IV emission norms should not be sold in India by any manufacturer or dealer from April 1, 2017.
Registration of such vehicles was also prohibited from the same date, the ED said in a statement.
“However, Jatadhara Industries, controlled by Prabhakar Reddy, C Gopal Reddy, in contravention to the apex court’s order, purchased BS-III vehicles from Ashok Leyland Ltd at discount and fraudulently registered the same as BS-IV vehicles by fabricating invoice copies,” the statement said.
According to the agency, some of the registrations were done in Nagaland, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
“ED has gathered evidence in the form of fabricated invoices from RTO authorities in Nagaland and original invoices issued by Ashok Leyland as scrap for some vehicles and established the crime,” the agency said.
The federal anti-money laundering agency said it has found proceeds of crimes generated by owning/plying and/or selling these vehicles worth ₹38.36 crore.