ED attaches assets worth Rs 3.50 crore in NFR bribery case involving former railway officer

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth around Rs 3.50 crore in connection with a money laundering investigation arising from a bribery case involving late Ranjit Kumar Borah, former Deputy Chief Electrical Engineer (Construction) of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in Guwahati’s Maligaon.

According to an ED press release, the attached assets comprise a residential flat in Patna, Bihar, valued at approximately Rs 3.28 crore, and a term deposit of around Rs 21.24 lakh maintained with Canara Bank in the name of Sonal Jain.

The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Anti-Corruption Branch-I in New Delhi against Borah and others.

The CBI case relates to allegations that illegal gratification was demanded and accepted from private railway contractors in exchange for allegedly extending undue favours in the award and execution of contracts of the NFR.

The CBI had intercepted the alleged delivery of bribe money on December 14, 2021, following which the accused were arrested. A charge sheet was subsequently filed in 2022.

During its investigation, the ED alleged that Borah demanded and accepted bribes from Chintan Jain and Nayan Chandra Jain, who were associated with railway contractor firm M/s Sunshine, and that the money was subsequently parked with them.

According to the agency, the alleged proceeds of crime were used to purchase a flat at Platinum Towers in Gurugram, Haryana, in the name of M/s Sunshine. The property was later sold in 2024 for around Rs 3.50 crore.

The ED alleged that the sale proceeds were routed through the bank accounts of M/s Sunshine, Chintan Jain and his wife, Sonal Jain. The agency further said the funds were subsequently used to repay home loans taken for the purchase of the Patna flat and to create fixed deposits in Sonal Jain’s name.

Borah died on September 6, 2024, while the investigation was underway.

The ED said the attachment was made against the properties themselves, as proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are directed at alleged proceeds of crime and tainted assets. Consequently, the properties were attached in the hands of their present holder, the agency said.

Further investigation in the case is underway.