Lucknow, Jan 3: In fresh action against real estate player, the Amrapali Group, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 99.26 crore for fraudulently diverting and misappropriating homebuyers’ funds, an official said on Saturday.

The immovable properties attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 include the office and factory land and building of Mauria Udyog Ltd., which is one of the entities of the Sureka Group, whose promoters are Navneet Sureka and Akhil Sureka.

The aggregate fair market value of the seized office and factory land and building was Rs. 99.26 crore as on December 30, 2016, the ED said in a statement.

The ED has now passed a total of six Provisional Attachment Orders, including the present one, under Section 5(1) of the PMLA, 2002, attaching properties having a cumulative value of Rs 303.08 crore.

The ED, Lucknow Zonal Office, initiated the investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered at different Police Stations in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, and EOW, Delhi Police, and also pursuant to a Supreme Court order.

On July 23, 2019, the Supreme Court passed the order in Bikram Chatterji versus Union of India matter that was related to petitions filed by aggrieved homebuyers.

The allegations were that the Amrapali Group collected huge sums of money from homebuyers, failed to deliver possession of flats within the stipulated time, and fraudulently diverted and misappropriated the homebuyers’ funds by adopting a criminal conspiracy involving bogus transactions, forgery and cheating.

The ED investigation revealed that the accused persons, their associates and promoters — namely Anil Kumar Sharma, Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar, Directors of the Amrapali Group — in connivance with Navneet Sureka and Akhil Sureka, Directors of Mauria Udyog and Jotindra Steel and Tubes Ltd, diverted homebuyers’ funds through non-genuine and fraudulent transactions under the guise of procurement of TMT bars and construction material.

The funds were layered through a complex web of shell entities and bogus suppliers, withdrawn substantially in cash and irreversibly dissipated, thereby generating and laundering the Proceeds of Crime (POC), the ED said.

It has been established that an amount of Rs110.39 crore was diverted to Mauria Udyog, representing POC generated from the money collected from Amrapali homebuyers.

As the original POC were dissipated and no longer available for direct attachment, the ED has attached the immovable properties of Mauria Udyog on the principle of “value thereof” under the PMLA, 2002, in order to secure the POC.

Earlier, the ED had arrested Anil Sharma, Shiv Priya and Ajay Kumar, Directors of the Amrapali Group; Anil Mittal, Statutory Auditor of the Amrapali Group; and Chander Prakash Wadhwa, CFO of the Amrapali Group.

So far, the ED has filed six Prosecution Complaints in this case, arraigning 33 individuals and entities as accused.

Thane: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested an assistant police inspector (API) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a man for helping him and his family members in a case in Maharashtra’s Thane district, an official said on Saturday.

Based on a complaint, API Sanjay Dhondiram Bidgar (48) of Ulhasnagar police station was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe amount on Friday, the official said.

He said that a case had been registered at the Ulhasnagar police station against the complainant, his son, and wife, and the accused officer allegedly demanded Rs 20,000 in exchange for not arresting the trio and for helping them in the case.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, the complainant approached the ACB in Thane, and after a preliminary verification, a trap was laid.

A case has been registered against Bidgar under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and a further probe is underway, the official said.

New Delhi, Jan 3: Delhi Police on Saturday arrested two accused allegedly involved in ATM fraud in the South-West District. The arrests were made by the staff of Kishangarh Police Station as part of intensified patrolling and surveillance to curb crime and ensure the safety and security of residents.

According to a statement released by the South-West District police, the arrested accused have been identified as Salman, son of Kabir, and Salman, son of Usman. With their arrest, the police recovered one country-made pistol (desi katta), two live cartridges, Rs 12,700 in cash, four ATM jamming devices, and one screwdriver allegedly used for breaking or opening ATM shutters.

The police said that the staff of Kishangarh Police Station had been directed to maintain a strict vigil over suspicious persons and criminals involved in illegal activities. As part of these directions, patrolling was intensified in sensitive areas falling under the jurisdiction of the police station.

On January 1, during routine patrolling, Head Constable Subhash and Head Constable Hitender noticed a suspicious person roaming in the area of Kishangarh Police Station. On spotting the police team, the individual allegedly attempted to flee but was apprehended after a brief chase. During the personal search of the accused, identified as Salman, son of Kabir, a country-made pistol was recovered from his possession.

The information was immediately conveyed to the Duty Officer of Kishangarh Police Station, following which Sub-Inspector Kamal Chaudhary, along with other police staff, reached the spot and completed the necessary legal formalities. A case vide FIR No. 02/2026 under Section 25 of the Arms Act was subsequently registered at Kishangarh Police Station, and the accused was formally arrested.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed his involvement in ATM fraud activities and revealed the name of his associate, Salman, son of Usman, who had allegedly supplied him with the illegal firearm. Acting on this information, the police apprehended the co-accused, from whose possession two live cartridges were recovered.

Further interrogation revealed that the accused used to commit ATM fraud by inserting small metallic jamming clips inside the cash-dispensing shutter of ATM machines. When unsuspecting customers attempted to withdraw money, the amount would be debited from their accounts, but the cash would not be dispensed due to the jamming device.

Believing the issue to be a technical fault and expecting a refund from the bank, the customers would leave the ATM. The accused would then remove the jamming clip and take away the cash trapped inside the machine. To protect themselves while committing these crimes, the accused allegedly carried illegal firearms. Further investigation in the case is currently underway.