ED Attaches Assets Worth Rs 7.85 Cr of Former Rajasthan Health Dept Official in Money Laundering Case

The Enforcement Directorate has attached fresh assets worth Rs 7.85 crore in connection with its money laundering probe against a former Rajasthan health department official, the central agency said on Friday.

The action has been taken against Mahesh Chand Sharma who worked in the health and medical department of the Rajasthan government as a nursing tutor (nursing grade- 2) and was posted in the SMS medical college. He was also a member of the Indian Nursing Council (INC) in Delhi, the ED said.

The agency has slapped criminal charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Sharma and others on the basis of an FIR and a charge sheet filed against them by the state anti-corruption bureau (ACB).

Sharma, along with an associate, was caught red-handed by the Jaipur ACB sometime back while taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a nursing institute in lieu of including its name (which was deleted earlier) on the website of the Indian Nursing Council, the ED said in a statement.

"ACB investigation established that the accused had amassed an illicit amount of Rs 10.6 crore which was 372 per cent more than his known or legal source of income," the ED alleged.

The agency has now issued a provisional order under the PMLA attaching his agricultural lands in Jaipur, Tonk and Karauli districts of Rajasthan, and 31 plots and houses at various locations in the state capital.

Earlier, the agency had attached assets worth Rs 4.75 crore of Sharma.

With the new order, the total attachment of assets, in this case, stands at Rs 12.60 crore, it added.

Investigation revealed that Sharma has "accumulated huge money by resorting to corrupt practices and misusing his official position," the ED said.

"This money was used for purchase of agricultural land, residential flats and plots in his name, in the name of his wife and son, company and trust named Safe Infracon Pvt Ltd, Saket Nursing College and RAG trust after layering and integrating the illicit money in the formal financial system in order to project it as untainted," it said.

The agency said two "tainted" properties of the accused were "not included" in the chargesheets filed by the ACB.