ED attaches assets worth crores in case linked to late Bhopal DIG
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable assets worth Rs. 4.68 crore, belonging to Umesh Gandhi, a former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Jail, Bhopal, and his family members, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This action comes almost eight years after Gandhi’s death in 2016 due to cancer.
The federal probe agency launched its investigation based on an FIR filed by the Special Police Establishment (SPE) of the Lokayukta, Bhopal. The FIR was registered under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, in connection with a corruption case involving the amassing of disproportionate assets by Umesh Gandhi.
Over a decade ago, in November 2012, the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta conducted a raid on the premises of Gandhi, then DIG (Prisons), located in the old jail premises in Bhopal. The raid uncovered disproportionate assets worth Rs 25 crore. Following the raid, Gandhi was suspended, although his suspension was revoked two years later, in 2014. Gandhi passed away in June 2016 after battling cancer.
The investigation led by the Lokayukta resulted in two chargesheets being filed: one in the Special Court and the other in the Court of the 1st Additional District and Sessions Judge, Bhopal.
