Srinagar, Jan 15: The Directorate of Enforcement Wednesday provisionally attached immovable properties worth ₹2.25 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
An official told Rising Kashmir that the properties belong to the shareholders and owners of M/s Manoj Ji & Co. Pvt. Ltd., a Railway Out Agency (ROA) of Northern Railway, Udhampur.
He said that the ED initiated its probe based on a chargesheet filed by the CBI Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Srinagar. The chargesheet alleged violations under Sections 420 read with 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) against M/s Manoj Ji & Co. Pvt. Ltd. and others, he said.
As per the investigation, Manoj Ji & Co. Pvt. Ltd., managed by the late Rajesh Oberoi, was contracted to transport 3,938.2 metric tons (MTs) of DAP fertilizer from Rail Head Point, Udhampur, to an IFFCO buffer stock at Nowgam, Srinagar. However, 1,024 MTs of fertilizer were never delivered to the destination, resulting in a deliberate loss of ₹2.25 crore, which included ₹2.07 crore for the undelivered fertilizer and ₹18.53 lakh fraudulently claimed as freight charges.
“The investigation revealed that payments received in the bank account of M/s Manoj Ji and Co. Pvt. Ltd. were rotated through multiple bank accounts in a complex manner,” the official said. “This was done to obscure the source of funds, which were then diverted for personal and business purposes by the Oberoi family.”
He said that the ED identified an industrial plot in Wazirabad, Delhi, registered in the names of the late Rajesh Oberoi and his wife, Rama Oberoi, as proceeds of crime under the PMLA. The property, valued at ₹2.25 crore, has been provisionally attached.
The case stems from the fraudulent claims made by M/s Manoj Ji & Co. Pvt. Ltd. and the misappropriation of funds, which were allegedly used for the personal and business activities of the Oberoi family, he said. Further investigation into the matter is ongoing, he added.
