ED NABS 3 FOR Rs 177 CR FRAUD

Chargesheet has been filed under provisions of MCOCA

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Nagpur, has arrested three persons in connection with alleged black marketing of government ration which led to massive losses to the government exchequer.

The names of the arrested persons are Sampat Namdeo Ghorpade, Arun Namdeo Ghorpade and Vishwas Namdeo Ghorpade. They were arrested under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) on Wednesday.

ED initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Nashik Police under sections 465,468,471 and 120-B of Indian Penal Code, 1860 against the accused. "In the said FIR, chargesheet has already been filed by the Maharashtra state police authorities, Nashik, under the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999," the agency stated on Friday.

"All the three accused gained illicit pecuniary advantage from public distribution system (PDS) by forming an organised crime syndicate and thereby started black marketing of government quota ration grain at Nashik. It was revealed during investigation that the accused

persons had indulged in unlawful activities as an individual singly and jointly as a gang. The crime money generated by these illegal activities was of around Rs. 177 crore," it stated.

According to ED, Sampat was the head of the mafia gang and that this organised crime syndicate was also involved in stealing of government quota food grain which is also known as ration foods which used to be kept reserved for poor strata of the society to be used in schemes like Antyodaya Yojna, Anganwadi and PDS.

All the three accused persons had systematically executed this criminal activity with the help of other unknown accomplices and there by generated the proceeds of crime of around Rs 177 crore, the ED said. On Thursday, all three accused were produced before a court and they have been sent to ED custody for eight days.