ED arrests IAS officer, 3 others in Mumbai illegal construction scam

The ED has arrested four persons, including an IAS officer, in a money laundering case linked to a massive illegal construction racket in Mumbai’s Vasai-Virar that defrauded thousands of home buyers and left 2,500 families homeless.

The agency said the arrests were made on August 13 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following a probe into the illegal construction of 41 residential-cum-commercial buildings on both private plots and government land reserved for a sewage treatment plant and dumping ground, as per the city’s approved development plan.

Those taken into custody are IAS officer Anil Powar, who is a former Municipal Commissioner of the Vasai-Virar City MC (VVCMC); Sitaram Gupta, a builder and corporator of the VVCMC from the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi; Arun Gupta, another builder and YS Reddy, MC Deputy Town Planner, currently under suspension. The builders, in collusion with the MC officials, fabricated approval documents to sell units in these unauthorised buildings, despite knowing they would eventually be demolished. All 41 structures were razed on the orders of the Bombay HC, rendering thousands homeless.