ED announced the attachment of immovable assets worth a total of Rs 4.06 crore from various districts across Maharashtra. These assets were seized in connection with the Public Distribution System (PDS) Foodgrain Scam case involving India Mega Agro Anaj Limited and others.

According to the ED, its Nagpur unit executed the attachment of these assets on May 30 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The assets that were seized include immovable properties acquired by India Mega Agro Anaj Limited, along with its promoters Ajay Chandraprakash Baheti and his family members.

ED initiated an investigation after receiving First Information Reports and chargesheets filed by the Maharashtra Police in the Nanded district. These documents implicated the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The investigation revealed instances of illegal transportation of essential commodities such as wheat and rice from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown in Jawahar Nagar Tuppa to the premises of Baheti Group's company, India Mega Agro Anaj Ltd.

ED stated that Ajay Baheti, the owner of India Mega Agro Anaj company, was involved in an "elaborate conspiracy" with various entities within the Public Distribution System (PDS). This included truck drivers, truck owners, district representatives responsible for receiving deliveries, godown keepers at Tehsil locations, as well as individuals and entities involved in transporting rationing grains, trading companies, and middlemen.

According to the ED, this network facilitated the misappropriation of food grains intended for public distribution at subsidised rates for personal use.

The ED stated that, according to the forensic audit report, Ajay Baheti manipulated his company's accounting records to create a paper trail for the tainted transactions. This was done to portray the diverted grains, which constituted the proceeds of the crime, as untainted.

Further investigations by the ED revealed that Ajay Baheti utilised a network of fictitious trading companies under the names of their employees. Bank accounts were opened in these names to facilitate the fraudulent activities.

The ED estimated that a total of Rs 55.27 crore worth of foodgrains were diverted from Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns to India Mega Agro Anaj Ltd. This amount was identified as the "proceeds of crime" during the investigation, based on the payments made by Ajay Baheti against bogus grain purchases from various shell entities between January 2018 and July 2018.

Ajay Chandraprakash Baheti was apprehended by the ED Nagpur on June 24, 2021. Subsequently, a Prosecution Complaint was filed in August 2021 in connection with this case.

Image source: ANI