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₹400-Crore Money-Heist Case Transferred To CID After Review Flags Concerns Over SIT Probe

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Mumbai: In a significant development, the alleged Rs 400-crore cash-heist and linked kidnapping case has been officially transferred to the Maharashtra State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on February 23, with the agency set to conduct a fresh investigation into the matter, senior officials confirmed. Administrative formalities for reopening the probe have been completed and the CID is expected to begin its investigation shortly. The move potentially overturns earlier findings that had termed the case fabricated.

The case was earlier investigated by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik Rural Police, which, after roughly 25 days of investigation, concluded that the alleged robbery, along with the linked kidnapping claim, was “fictitious”. On February 12, the SIT filed a closure report before the Igatpuri Judicial Magistrate First Class Court, citing Section 189 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), according to court records, stating that the central premise of the alleged crime appeared fabricated and recommending closure of the case.

Sources at the state police headquarters said that an internal review at the senior command level examined aspects of the earlier probe conducted by the SIT and flagged what officials described as procedural concerns. According to senior officers familiar with the review, the findings indicated that the SIT proceeded with the closure proposal despite adverse remarks recorded by the Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) regarding the proposed invocation of Section 189 of the BNSS.

Sources added that the review raised red flags over the reported role of certain senior police officers in unofficial investigation-related activities linked to the case, questioned the unusually swift completion of the SIT probe within about 25 days, and scrutinised the grounds on which the arrested accused were allowed to walk free, citing absence of evidence.

Special Public Prosecutor Ajay Assar confirmed that the APP had expressed reservations over the closure proposal and that detailed findings from the review had since been communicated to the Inspector General (Law and Order), following which the process to transfer the investigation to the CID was initiated a few days ago.

The transfer was formalised through an official order issued from the Maharashtra Police headquarters in Mumbai on February 23, directing that the investigation in the case registered at Ghoti Police Station under relevant provisions of the BNSS be handed over to the CID.

The order instructed the Additional Director General of Police (CID) to take over the probe and ensure that the investigation is completed within the prescribed time frame and a report submitted to the headquarters. It further directed the Superintendent of Nashik Rural Police to immediately transfer the complete original case papers, including the case diary and all related documents and evidence, to the CID and submit a compliance report.

Officials said that following the issuance of this order, the CID has begun the process of independently reassessing the material collected during the earlier investigation. The agency is expected to re-examine documentary and electronic evidence, record fresh statements where required, and scrutinise the sequence of events surrounding the alleged cash movement as well as the circumstances in which the robbery and kidnapping complaint was originally registered.

SIT chief and Additional Superintendent of Police (Nashik Rural) Aditya Milkhelkar said the investigation had been conducted properly and without mala fide intention, adding that any departmental scrutiny or related inputs would also be placed before the CID. He maintained that he had not acted under any improper influence and denied wrongdoing.

The case surfaced after a Nashik-based businessman lodged a complaint at Ghoti Police Station alleging kidnapping, extortion and the disappearance of a large cash consignment purportedly worth around Rs 400 crore in demonetised Rs 2,000 notes. According to the complaint, the money was allegedly being transported from Karnataka to a Gujarat-based ashram in Ahmedabad for conversion into legal tender when the alleged heist took place on October 16 at Chorla Ghat along the Maharashtra–Karnataka border.

Given the scale of the alleged amount and the seriousness of the kidnapping claim, the probe was taken over by the SIT of Nashik Rural Police. During the investigation, officers examined call data records, vehicle routes, financial transactions and statements of persons allegedly connected with the transport and handling of the cash.

During the probe, the SIT arrested eight accused, including builder Kishor Sawla, alleged hawala operator Virat Gandhi, a Government Railway Police officer and others previously named in the case. However, after completing the investigation within about 25 days, the SIT filed the closure report under Section 189 of the BNSS, which allows a magistrate to release accused when no prima facie case is established. In its report, the SIT concluded that neither the alleged Rs 400-crore heist nor the kidnapping of the complainant had taken place and that no material was found to substantiate the allegations. The report cleared all accused, allowing them to walk free, with the court observing that no criminal role had been established against them.

Sources said the internal review at the DGP office also examined complaints alleging that certain senior officials may have participated in parallel or unofficial inquiry-related activities connected to the case. These aspects, officials indicated, are also expected to be examined as part of the CID’s fresh investigation.

Crime

ED files FIR, foils bid to trespass flat attached in extortion case against Dawood’s brother

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In a matter related to fugitive don Dawood Ibrahim’s brother, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) lodged an FIR seeking action against miscreants who trespassed a Thane flat that was attached earlier in connection with an extortion case registered against Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar, an officials said on Friday.

The flat was attached by the ED in 2022 during money laundering investigation in a case relating to extortion by accused Iqbal Kaskar, younger brother of underworld don Dawood, who is suspected to be in Pakistan, the official said in a statement.

The FIR was filed as a deterrent action against miscreants for trespassing the “confirmed attached properties” in the possession of the ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office-I, it said.

“The FIR was lodged on October 15 after restoring the possession of a flat in Thane (West) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002,” the ED said.

“In respect of the alleged unauthorised entry and interference with the attached property, an FIR dated October 15 has been registered at Kasarvadavali Police Station in Thane under Sections 329(4) and 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, so that the matter is investigated and trespassers are punished,” the ED added.

The property was provisionally attached vide provisional attachment order dated April 8, 2022, during money laundering investigation in the extortion case against Iqbal Kaskar and others, it said.

The provisional attachment was subsequently confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under Section 8(3) of the PMLA vide order dated September 29, 2022, and possession of the flat was also taken by the ED on December 17, 2024, under Section 8(4) of the PMLA, the statement said.

The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of FIR registered at Kasarvadavali Police Station in Thane, concerning allegations of extortion against, inter alia, Iqbal Kaskar, Mumtaz Azaz Sheikh alias Raju, Israr Ali Jamil Saiyad and others.

During investigation, it was revealed that pursuant to threats and extortion, flats were demanded to be registered in favour of or at the instance of the accused persons, the ED said.

In this context, Flat No. 405 was registered in the name of Mumtaz Azaz Sheikh on May 29, the ED said.

It came to notice that some people had entered the property, broken the lock and removed the ED’s possession notice, the statement said.

The ED conducted inspections and took necessary steps to safeguard the attached property.

The matter was also placed before the Special PMLA Court, which also directed the ED to restore the possession with police assistance, if required.

In compliance and also to safeguard the property, the lock of said flat was changed in presence of police personnel and witnesses and the possession of the said flat was restored, the ED said.

A fresh notice was also affixed on the premises clearly mentioning that any aggrieved person may either approach the office of the ED or the court where the trial of the case is being conducted, it added.

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Business

ED attaches Rs 85.2 crore Kolkata land linked to Unity Infraprojects bank fraud case

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached an immovable property spread over approximately 14.51 acres in Kolkata valued at Rs 85.20 crore, in connection with a bank fraud and money laundering case involving M/s Unity Infraprojects Ltd. (UIL) and others, the agency said on Friday.

According to the ED, the attached land, located at Mouza Chakgaria in Kolkata, is held in the name of M/s Suburban Agriculture Dairy & Fisheries Pvt. Ltd. (SADAFPL). The attachment was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the CBI’s Bank Securities & Fraud Branch in Mumbai on a complaint lodged by the State Bank of India.

The FIR alleges that UIL, in connivance with its promoters, directors and associated entities, defrauded a consortium of 23 banks by availing credit facilities of around Rs 3,200 crore. The total outstanding dues, including interest, are estimated at approximately Rs 3,800 crore.

According to investigators, the fraud involved fictitious transactions, round-tripping of funds, manipulation of financial records, and diversion of funds through shell entities.

The ED said its probe revealed that funds from UIL were routed through its wholly owned subsidiary, Unity Realty & Developers Ltd. (URDL), and subsequently used to acquire and hold assets through associated companies. SADAFPL was identified as a step-down subsidiary of UIL through URDL.

Further investigations established a trail linking the Chakgaria land parcel to funds originating from UIL and its group entities, indicating diversion and layering of proceeds generated from the scheduled offences. The property was attached under Section 5(1) of the PMLA to prevent its transfer or disposal pending confiscation proceedings.

The agency noted that in July 2025 it had conducted searches at residential and commercial premises, as well as bank lockers, linked to UIL, its former directors and their family members. During those operations, movable assets worth Rs 31.21 crore were seized or frozen.

The ED had also attached land parcels and flats valued at about Rs 1,493 crore through three separate provisional attachment orders, all of which were later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA.

With the latest attachment, the total value of movable and immovable assets attached or frozen in the case has risen to about Rs 1,609 crore, the agency said.

The ED further informed that it filed a prosecution complaint before the Designated Special Court, City Civil and Sessions Court, Greater Bombay, Mumbai, on March 27, 2026.

Further investigation is underway.

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Crime

Illegal forex receipt: ED raids Mumbai, Delhi premises of Mega Millennium

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The ED conducted search operations at half a dozen premises, including offices and residential properties, in Mumbai and Delhi and a farmhouse in Maharashtra in connection with the illegal receipt of foreign exchange from Dubai and Singapore by Mega Millennium Private Limited, an official said on Friday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted the searches under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the official said in a statement.

Apart from inspecting digital devices and incriminating documents related to Mega Millennium Private Limited, the investigators also conducted searches at a farmhouse in Karjat, Maharashtra, the ED said.

Foreign currency, Indian currency and valuables worth several crores of rupees were also detected by the ED during the search operation, said an official.

The focus of the ED’s search operation was on Harish Dedhiya, a Mumbai-based consultant and director of the company, the statement said.

The company and its directors, including Dedhiya and his wife Dhara Dedhiya, have received large sums of foreign exchange from suspicious companies based in Dubai and Singapore, the ED said.

The ED investigation indicated that Dedhiya incorporated companies by appointing his own employees/dummies as Directors. Within a year of incorporation, these companies received hundreds of crores of rupees, which were layered through multiple shell entities, the ED said.

In a separate case in Maharashtra, the ED conducted search operations at 10 premises, including hospital/IVF centres, located in Thane, Baramati and Nashik and seized digital evidence and Rs 29 lakh in cash during the investigation in a human egg extraction racket, an official said.

The ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office-II conducted search operations on October 16 at the10 premises under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED investigation was initiated based on an FIR and a subsequent chargesheet filed by Badlapur (East) Police Station, Thane, Maharashtra, alleging offences of cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and violations of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, by Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others, the ED said in a statement.

The case pertains to an organised network involved in recruiting financially vulnerable women for human egg donation and supplying them to various IVF centres and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks through donor-supply agents operating under different proprietorship concerns, the agency said.

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