Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the house of former district panchayat members Jayanti Sahu and her brother Vimal Sahu in Gatapar area of Durg district.
A 13-member team of ED reached the residence of the former district panchayat member in the wee hours of Monday and sealed the house. During the search, no one was allowed to go out of the house and neither anyone was allowed to enter. The ED conducted the search for alleged connection with liquor businessman Subhash Sharma of Raipur. Subhash had committed a scam of Rs 54 crore.
Vimal Sahu is accused of embezzling bank loans worth crores of rupees by preparing documents in the name of a fake company. Along with this, benami property worth crores of rupees has been found in the name of both. To find out this, the ED team carried out the search. The information regarding the same was not given to any state officials. It is said that some other officials of the ED have also searched the houses of their relatives living in Dallirajhara and other places.
The ED also searched the residence of liquor businessman Subhash Sharma of Raipur. The ED came to know about loans of crores of rupees from the bank by forming different companies on the basis of forged documents. In this way, Subhash embezzled the bank loan. ED arrested Subhash Sharma from Delhi a few days back. At the same time, when the ED questioned Subhash Sharma in remand for 10 days, the ED came to know about Jayanti Sahu and Vimal Sahu, both residents of Gatapar.
Besides being a liquor barron, Subhash Sharma has many big hotels and other businesses. Many cases are registered against him in Gole Bazar and Civil Lines police stations of Raipur.
In 2015, Vikram Rana, while filing a complaint at Gole Bazar police station, said that Subhash had taken a loan of about Rs 16.50 crore from Punjab National Bank by mortgaging Rana’s land. After this he did not pay the installment of that loan.
The bank sent a notice to Rana following which Gole Bazar police arrested Subhash in 2018. Allegation against Subhash Sharma of non-payment of installments by taking a loan of Rs 38.50 crore for Hotel Sapphire Inn, Goodluck Petroleum Company and M/s Vidit Trading Company is also there. In this way, Subhash has taken loan of Rs 54 crore.
The ED had started investigation against Subhash Sharma by registering a case under the Money Laundering Act. When Subhash was interrogated, it came to fore that the work for which Subhash used to take loan from banks and used to invest that money in other business instead of in those works for which loan was taken. He took all the loans on the basis of forged documents, so that he would not have to repay the loan.
A senior IRS officer Yogesh Sharma, Additional Director, ED Regional Headquarters from Mumbai, arrived here in Raipur to oversee the proceedings of searches along with ED Deputy Director Nitin Jaiman, which were being carried out by R Nandini, Deputy Director from ED Zonal Office, who was coordinating with them. Since ED Zonal Office in Raipur falls under jurisdictional control of Mumbai-based ED Regional office, an Additional Director ranked officer was sent here to oversee the searches.
