BHUBANESWAR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 29.83 lakh of former Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Abhay Kant Pathak in connection with a case registered against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Pathak, who was arrested in November 2020 on charges of amassing disproportionate assets, was given compulsory retirement last year. “During investigation, it was ascertained that Pathak had utilised his ill-gotten income to acquire various immovable property. He also transferred the money in his and family members’ bank accounts,” said an ED officer.
In another development, the ED filed a prosecution complaint in the court against liquor baron Zeyarat Ali and his three sons - Md Qazzafi, Riffat Ali and Sabtin Ali. Earlier, police had earlier registered a case against Zeyarat and his sons under various sections of the IPC and the Arms Act. They were arrested in 2016. “Investigation revealed that Zeyarat and his sons acquired money by committing criminal activities. Around Rs 1.35 crore cash of the accused has been attached,” said an ED officer. Similarly, the Central agency filed a prosecution complaint in court against former Dhenkanal RTO Basanta Behera. Vigilance had arrested Behera in 2018 for possessing disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 2.97 crore. Behera’s assets worth Rs 52.24 lakh have been provisionally attached.