ITANAGAR / NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Itanagar Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable and movable properties valued at ₹1.51 crore under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a money laundering probe involving Padma Jaiswal, IAS, the former Deputy Commissioner of West Kameng District, Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, and others.
According to a press release issued by the agency on Friday, the attached assets include a commercial property—Booth No. 274 in Sector-40D, Chandigarh, measuring 29.626 square yards—registered in the name of Vishu Bhanu Partap Mahto, brother of Padma Jaiswal, with an assessed fair market value of ₹1.42 crore. In addition, mutual fund investments worth ₹9 lakh held in the name of Padma Jaiswal under the SBI Multicap Fund (Regular – Growth) have also been attached.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch, Guwahati, against Padma Jaiswal, IAS, Nor Bahadur Sonar (then Finance & Accounts Officer), Rinchin Phuntsok (then Cashier), and others under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The CBI subsequently filed a charge sheet on August 30, 2024, before the Special Judge (P.C. Act) Court in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh.
Alleged Diversion of Government Funds
Investigations by the ED revealed that Padma Jaiswal, during her tenure as Deputy Commissioner in Bomdila, allegedly conspired with other accused public servants to misappropriate government funds. The accused reportedly dissolved three government Deposit at Call Receipts (DCRs) fraudulently and facilitated the issuance of ten Demand Drafts totaling ₹28 lakh in favour of private individuals by misrepresenting them as official government transactions.
The agency stated that out of the ₹28 lakh proceeds of crime, ₹19 lakh was routed toward the purchase of the Chandigarh commercial booth in her brother’s name. Banking records, demand drafts, and property registration documents established the financial trail linking the diverted government funds to the acquisition.
The remaining ₹9 lakh was allegedly diverted through three demand drafts for the proposed purchase of a residential plot in Sector-86, Mohali, in the name of her daughter, Pooja Jaiswal. However, the transaction was later cancelled and the plot was never registered in her name. Consequently, mutual fund holdings of equivalent value (₹9 lakh) in Padma Jaiswal’s name were attached as equivalent proceeds of crime.
