New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday attached 105 immovable properties and other assets worth Rs 96.21 crore belonging to Madhucon Group of companies, associated with TRS MP Nama Nageswara Rao, and its directors and promoters, in an alleged money laundering case against Ranchi Expressway Limited bank fraud, according to reports. The properties include land assets of Rs 88.85 crores in Hyderabad, West Bengal and Vishakhapatnam, along with movable assets of 7.36 crore, including shareholding of the promoters in Madhucon Projects Ltd, adding up to Rs 96.21 crore.
According to reports, on the basis of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR lodged on March 12, 2019, the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and started its probe.
Later, on December 30, 2020, the CBI filed a chargesheet before the Special Judge for CBI cases, Ranchi, against Ranchi Expressways Limited and others.
It is to be noted that on June 11, 2021, the ED searched the offices of Madhucon Group, the residences of K Srinivasa Rao, CMD of Ranchi Expressway, and also the residences of its directors N Seetaiah and Nageswara Rao’s son N Prithvi Teja, in connection with the Rs 1,064 crore bank fraud case.
The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had awarded a project of four-laning of NH-33 from 114km to 277.50km on the Ranchi-Rargaon-Jameshdpur Section to Madhucon Project Limited on March 18, 2011, as per the ANI report.
However, the company could not complete the project, despite availing the full loan amount, following which their contract was terminated and an FIR was booked based on the directions of High Court, which were in turn based on the reports of SFIO and NHAI.
Notably, the ED’s moves comes on a day when Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP at the meet-and-greet event of opposition’s presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha with the TRS leaders.
Accusing the Centre of “killing democracy”, CM KCR, as quoted in a report by The Indian Express, said, “What the Modi administration is doing is successfully killing democracy every day, throttling the federal system of India…toppling governments which do not toe their line. One Union minister said that like Maharashtra, they will pull down the Telangana government…we are ready. If our government falls, we will be free to bring down the BJP government at the Centre. For 60 years, Telangana society has fought for a separate state and we are prepared for another struggle.”
The Chief Minister further took a swipe at the PM over the latter “failing” the country in Covid-19 management, the Centre’s attitude towards the farmers, among other issues.
(With inputs from ANI)