HYDERABAD: The Directorate of Enforcement, Hyderabad Zonal Office, seized 45 old and vintage cars and foreign currency worth 12,000 UAE Dirham during search operations at five locations in Hyderabad on 28 April.
The searches were conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an ongoing investigation into the alienation of government land for personal gains.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated its probe based on an FIR registered by the Telangana Police against private individuals and government officials for the illegal sale of government land through the forgery of documents and manipulation of government revenue records.
The investigation revealed that government and Bhoodan land located in Nagaram Village, Maheshwaram Mandal, was falsely claimed as ancestral property by one Khaderunissa. Officials said, “The revenue records were fraudulently mutated and the land was sold to various entities in association with several middlemen.”
These middlemen, in connivance with government officials, allegedly forged documents and altered the land revenue records, leading to the de-notification of the said land from the prohibited list and its subsequent sale to private parties.
Searches were carried out at the residences and farmhouses of Khaderunissa, Mohd Munawar Khan, Mohd Lateef Sharfan, Mohd Akhtar Sharfan, and Mohd Sukoor. The agency stated that the raids resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents related to the fraudulent sale and purchase of government land, Indian currency amounting to Rs 23 lakh, and the foreign currency.
Additionally, 45 old and used cars, including several vintage models, were found and seized from the farmhouse premises of Mohd Munawar Khan.