ED Attaches ₹5.37 Crore Assets Of Former Sironj Janpad CEO In MP’s Vidisha Marriage Assistance Scheme Fraud, ₹30.18 Crore Under Scanner

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Bhopal, has attached properties worth Rs 5.37 crore belonging to former Sironj Janpad Panchayat chief executive officer Shobhit Tripathi and his associate Hemant Sahu in connection with alleged fraud under the Marriage Assistance Scheme between 2019 and 2021, officials said on Friday.

The ED's Bhopal Zonal Office issued a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The state government's Marriage Assistance Scheme provides financial assistance of Rs 51,000 to daughters of registered poor construction workers.

Tripathi, during his tenure as the CEO of Sironj Janpad Panchayat from 2019 to November 2021, allegedly approved and disbursed Rs 30.18 crore in government funds in collusion with others in 5,923 suspicious marriage assistance cases.

The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Bhopal, against Tripathi and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Fraudulent accounts used to siphon off funds

The investigation revealed that forged application forms and credentials of ineligible beneficiaries were used to fraudulently obtain benefits under the scheme.

Funds were transferred into bank accounts opened using beneficiaries' credentials without their knowledge and immediately withdrawn in multiple cash tranches.

Benefits were also extended to ineligible persons during the Covid-19 lockdown when public marriages were prohibited.