The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Nagpur has arrested three people in connection with alleged black marketing of government ration.
The names of the arrested persons are Sampat Namdeo Ghorpade, Arun Namdeo Ghorpade and Vishwas Namdeo Ghorpade. They have been arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) on Wednesday.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Nashik Police under sections 465, 468, 471 and 120-B of Indian Penal Code, 1860 against the accused.
"In the said FIR chargesheet has already been filed by the Maharashtra state police authorities, Nashik under the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999," the agency stated on Dridaut. "All the three accused gained illicit pecuniary advantage from the Public Distribution System by forming an Organized Crime Syndicate and thereby started black marketing of Government Quota ration grain in Nashik. It was revealed during investigation that the accused persons had indulged in unlawful activities both singly and jointly as a gang. The crime money generated by these illegal activities was of around Rs. 177 crores," it stated.
Further, the ED said that Sampat Namdeo Ghorpade was the head of the said criminal syndicate/mafia gang and that this organized gang was also involved in stealing of government quota food grain (also known as ration food) which used to be kept reserved for the poor strata of society to be used in schemes like Antyodaya Yojna, Anganwadi, PDS etc.
All the three accused persons had systematically executed this criminal activity with the help of other unknown accomplices and there by generated the proceeds of crime of around Rs 177 crores, the ED said.
On Thursday, all three accused were produced before a court and they have been sent to ED custody for eight days.
