ED attaches Rs 1.32-cr assets of Bihar liquor mafia

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached properties worth Rs 1.32 crore allegedly belonging to a member of liquor mafia in Bihar's Ara district. The suspect, Sanjay Pratap Singh was also involved in the selling of spurious liquor which killed 21 persons in 2011.

New Delhi:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 1.32 crore, including plots and bank deposits, of a Bihar-based 'liquor mafia' under the anti-money laundering law, the agency said on Friday.

A provision order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued against Sanjay Pratap Singh and his wife Kiran Devi.

"Singh is a liquor mafia of Ara and Bhojpur districts," the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement.

Bank deposits of Rs 30,757 kept in the name of Singh and Maa Construction have also been attached, it said.

The ED said Singh faces charges of culpable homicide, cheating and criminal conspiracy among others and the federal probe agency took cognisance of Bihar police FIRs and charge sheets to slap a money laundering case against him.

"Singh was also involved in the illegal manufacturing and selling of spurious liquor which resulted in the death of 21 persons. He has been convicted to life imprisonment by a trial court," the ED said.

The accused had invested the proceeds of crime generated through illegal trade of liquor for acquiring immovable properties in his and his wife's name, the ED alleged.

His wife has no independent source of income, it added.

"In 2011, Singh created an unregistered firm Bhojpur Wine Traders intending to legalise his tainted income," it said.

"The accused has used the proceeds of crime in the construction business where ill-gotten money has been used to acquire and construct an immovable property," the ED said.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI)