ED Takes Action Against Former IAS Officer Pradeep Sharma, Attaches Assets Worth ₹5.92 Crore

Bhuj (The Uttam Hindu): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth approximately ₹5.92 crore belonging to former Gujarat IAS officer Pradeep Sharma and others in a money laundering case. The attached properties include plots located in Bhuj and Kutch, Gujarat. The ED alleged that Sharma, while serving as the Bhuj district collector, misused his position to illegally allot valuable government land to a person named Sanjay Shah. Sharma allegedly disregarded government resolutions and caused an undue loss to the state government. Shah later developed the land into residential plots and generated proceeds of crime.

The money laundering case stems from a Gujarat Police crime branch FIR against Sharma, Shah, and others, accusing them of cheating and criminal breach of trust. The ED investigation revealed that Sharma, in connivance with other revenue officials, was involved in the illegal allotment of government land, causing a loss to the state exchequer. The ED issued a provisional attachment order on April 25 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the assets. The agency's action aims to recover the proceeds of crime generated through the alleged illegal activities.