Enforcement Directorate’s Extensive Searches in Money Laundering Probe Involving Educational Trust Led by Ex-Minister Lal Singh’s Wife
Jammu, 17-10-2023 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) undertook an extensive operation on Tuesday in Jammu and its vicinity, as part of a thorough investigation into a money laundering case involving an educational trust managed by the spouse of former Jammu and Kashmir minister, Lal Singh, along with a former government official. This investigation pertains to alleged irregularities in the acquisition of land for the establishment of the trust, as reported by official sources.
The federal agency executed searches at approximately eight locations, encompassing Jammu, Kathua, and Pathankot in Punjab, specifically targeting the RB Educational Trust, its chairperson, Kanta Andotra (who is Lal Singh’s wife), and a former revenue official named Ravinder S. The foundation of this money laundering case traces back to a charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in October 2021. This charge sheet accused criminal collaboration in the allocation of land between January 4 and January 7, 2011, with insufficient details provided regarding the violation of the prescribed limit of 100 standard kanals imposed under Section 14 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976. These alleged transgressions led to unjust financial benefits bestowed upon the trust.
Subsequently, the trust acquired multiple parcels of land, totaling approximately 329 Kanals, through three gift deeds executed on January 5 and January 7, 2011, as per the CBI’s charge sheet. Investigative sources have revealed that the ED has ascertained that the surplus land is actively being employed by the trust for operating DPS Schools and various other commercial ventures.
The properties covered during Tuesday’s search operation encompassed entities associated with the trust, its chairperson, those who donated the land, individuals holding power of attorney on behalf of the land donors, witnesses responsible for executing the deeds, and the patwari at that time, who allegedly wrongfully issued fards (official land revenue records) to enable the RB Educational Trust to carry out the land transactions. The ED’s investigation aims to scrutinize the alleged financial improprieties surrounding the land acquisition and its subsequent use for commercial purposes by the trust.
