Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with an alleged bank fraud case.
According to India Today, the ED detained Gajjan Majra from a public meeting in Malerkotla earlier on Monday and took him to Jalandhar for questioning. He was arrested after being questioned by the ED.
As per ED sources, the Bank of India, Model Town Branch, Ludhiana had sanctioned a loan on cash credit limits aggregating Rs. 35.00 Crore as against hypothecation of stocks and book debts on September 23, 2011, under sole banking arrangement.
The account was also sanctioned an ad-hoc limit of Rs six Crore in Feb 2014, which is yet to be repaid by the Company. Account of M/s TCL was declared as NPA on March 23, 2014.
The aggregate loan outstanding is Rs. 76 Crore. Jaswant Singh, Balwant Singh, Kulwant Singh and Tejinder Singh were directors and guarantors in the loan account of M/s Tara Corporation Limited.
When a fresh ROC search was initiated by the bank in May 2016, it was observed that there was a drastic change in the directors of the company (without intimation to/prior permission of Bank) and Kirpal Singh Tiwana, Harish Kumar and Lakhbir Singh had been appointed as directors of M/s TCL and Principal person Balwant Singh had resigned from the directorship.
Later on, Balwant Singh had also been re-appointed as director of the company w.e.f May 25, 2016. On the basis of the information available, the investigation was initiated against the above-mentioned persons and their associates in order to ascertain the money laundering activities undertaken by them for laundering their proceeds of crime.
The CBI raided Gajjan Majra’s residence and other premises last year as part of an investigation into a bank fraud case involving approximately Rs 41 crore. The most recent development has exacerbated the political turmoil in Punjab, where the BJP has been protesting against the Kejriwal government, accusing it of misusing power.
The CBI raid resulted in the seizure of approximately Rs 16.57 lakh in cash, 88 foreign currency notes, various property documents, several bank accounts, and other suspicious documents. It is alleged that the loans taken by the accused were not utilised for their intended purposes.
A case was registered against a private firm located in Gaunspura, along with former directors, a private company’s guarantor, another private firm, and unidentified public servants/private individuals.
The private firm, which deals in D.O.S.E Rice Bran, D.O.S.E Mustard Cake, Binola Cake, maize, barley, and other food items, is alleged to have availed loans from the bank in four intervals between 2011 and 2014.
The firm, through its directors, is alleged to have concealed its non-moving stock and manipulated the loans with ill-intent, making them unavailable for inspection and recovery by the bank. This resulted in a substantial loss of around Rs 40.92 crore to the bank.