Uttarakhand land scam: ED files chargesheet against Harak

NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate’s Dehradun unit on Friday filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against former Uttarakhand Congress minister Harak Singh Rawat in a money laundering case linked to land deals.

Harak Singh and his wife Deepti Rawat are among five accused in the case. The others are Birendra Singh Kandari, Laxmi Rana and Poorna Devi Memorial Trust, which runs the Doon Institute of Medical Sciences offering paramedical courses such as BSc nursing.

ED said its probe revealed Deepti Rawat and Rana got lands registered in their names as part of a conspiracy hatched by Kandari. The agency began the money laundering probe based on an FIR filed by Uttarakhand Police over irregularities in land registered for the trust running the educational institute.

ED alleged that despite a court order, Sushila Rani and others registered two power of attorneys for lands in Sahaspur. These plots were later sold by attorney holder Kandari to Deepti Rawat and Rana at prices far below circle rates. “The lands purchased by Deepti Rawat are now part of Doon Institute of Medical Sciences (under the trust) controlled by family of Harak Singh,” ED said.