The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth around Rs 3.50 crore in a money laundering case linked to an alleged bribery case involving late Ranjit Kumar Borah, former Deputy Chief Electrical Engineer (Construction) of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in Maligaon.
According to the ED, the attached assets include a residential flat in Patna, Bihar, valued at around Rs 3.28 crore, and a term deposit of approximately Rs 21.24 lakh with Canara Bank in the name of Sonal Jain.
The ED launched its investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch-I in New Delhi against Borah and others. The CBI case relates to allegations that bribes were demanded and accepted from private railway contractors in return for extending undue favours in the award and execution of NFR contracts.
The CBI had intercepted the alleged delivery of bribe money on December 14, 2021, following which the accused were arrested. A charge sheet was filed in 2022.
During its investigation, the ED alleged that Borah demanded and accepted bribes from Chintan Jain and Nayan Chandra Jain, associated with railway contractor firm M/s Sunshine. The agency alleged that the proceeds were subsequently parked with them.
According to the ED, the alleged proceeds of crime were used to purchase a flat at Platinum Towers in Gurugram in the name of M/s Sunshine. The property was later sold in 2024 for around Rs 3.50 crore.
The agency alleged that the sale proceeds were routed through the bank accounts of M/s Sunshine, Chintan Jain and his wife Sonal Jain. The funds were subsequently used to repay home loans taken for the Patna flat and to create fixed deposits in Sonal Jain’s name, the ED said.
Borah died on September 6, 2024, while the investigation was underway.
The ED said the attachment was made against the properties themselves, as proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) concern alleged proceeds of crime and tainted assets. The properties were therefore attached in the hands of their present holder, the agency said.
