CHENNAI: Assets worth Rs 14.23 crores belonging to the son of retired Tamil Nadu IAS officer K Rajamanickam, the wife of former IPS officer M S Jaffar Sait, and a real estate developer have been attached under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to alleged irregularities in the allotment of government plots in that state, the ED said Wednesday.
A provisional order has been issued against Pravin Jaffar, wife of former intelligence department inspector general of Tamil Nadu Police S Jaffar Sait; R Durgashankar, son of Rajamanickam, and T Udayakumar, proprietor of Landmark Construction, Chennai, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement.
Sait retired last year from the post of the director general of police (DGP) of Tamil Nadu fire and rescue services.
The ED initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) against seven individuals --- M S Jaffar Sait, then former Inspector General of Police (Intelligence wing), Parvin, wife of Jaffar Sait; K Murugaiya, Executive Engineer, Tamil Nadu Housing Board, Chennai; K Rajamanickam, the then Secretary to former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu; R Durgashankar, son of Rajamanickam; I Periyasamy, former minister for Tamil Nadu Housing department and T Udayakumar, proprietor of Land Mark Construction, an ED release stated.
An investigation by the ED revealed that wrongful allotment of Government Discretionary Quota (GDQ) plots was done by I Periyasamy, the then Minister of Housing and Urban Development. A residential plot was allotted to Jaffar Sait under GDQ without being eligible for such allotment.
The DVAC, apart from the two bureaucrats, their family members and the real estate businessman, had also booked K Murugaiya, executive engineer of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.
Rajamanickam who was the then Secretary to the then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi got the adjacent plot allotted to his son R Durgashankar in violation of the norms of GDQ. Parvin Jaffar and R Durgashankar entered into an agreement with Udayakumar of Landmark Construction for joint development of the combined land in order to maximize the fruits of crime.
Udayakumar financed the said crime despite knowing well that the allottees were not the owners as on the day of the Joint Development Agreement. The monetary consideration received from Udayakumar was used by Parvin Jaffar and R Durgashankar to pay the cost of illegally allotted plots by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.
Parvin Jaffar, R Durgashankar, and T Udayakumar generated huge amounts of proceeds of crime by way of building a multi-floor apartment on the said allotted plots and realized the money by way of selling the flats to the general public.
Out of the total proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 14.86 crore generated by three of them, movable and immovable properties worth Rs 14.23 crore has been provisionally attached.
Further investigation into the matter is under progress.