ED raids Uttarakhand PCS officer in case related to NH-74 widening 'scam'

Dehradun/New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches against an Uttarakhand officer and others as part of a money laundering investigation linked to a 2017 case of alleged corruption in the widening of national highway 74 in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, official sources said.

Dinesh Pratap Singh, a provincial civil service (PCS) officer, is currently posted as the executive director of the Doiwala Sugar Mill in Dehradun run by the Uttarakhand government.

At least seven locations in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh linked to the bureaucrat were raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The searches were linked to the alleged NH-74 scam, the sources said Singh could not be contacted for a comment on the ED action and the charges against him.

According to the sources, Singh "changed" the use of land acquired for widening of NH-74 and NH-125 by passing backdated orders resulting in the loss of Rs 162.5 crore to the government. This was while he was working as the competent authority of land acquisition.

The money laundering case stems from a 2017 FIR, followed by a chargesheet, of the Uttarakhand police against Singh, revenue officials, farmers and middlemen.

The police, according to an ED statement issued in the case in September 2020, found that Singh and some others, working in the capacity of the competent authority of land acquisition, conspired with other public servants, farmers and middlemen for misappropriation of government funds. They did this by granting compensation at non-agriculture rate on the basis of backdated orders passed under section 143 of Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act of 1950.

The compensation at non-agriculture rate is much higher than the agriculture rate, the ED said.

The central agency filed a chargesheet against Singh and some others in 2024 as part of this investigation. The fresh searches are aimed at gathering more evidence in the case, according to the sources.