Chandigarh, Nov 20: The court of special judge, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Haryana, has granted bail to Chander Shekhar, an accused in money laundering case linked to alleged financial fraud with the National Highways Authority of India and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
The court of special judge, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Haryana, has granted bail to Chander Shekhar, an accused in money laundering case linked to alleged financial fraud with the National Highways Authority of India and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
On July 22, 2015, a first information report was registered by the State Vigilance Bureau, Haryana, under relevant sections against Naresh Sheokand and others for embezzlement of funds of the NHAI and the HSIIDC.
Two years later, the case was shifted to the Central Bureau of Investigation, and on January 4, 2017, it registered a case under sections 120-B, 409, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of IPC, 1860, and under section 13(1) (d) of the PC Act, 1988.
Now, on the basis of this FIR, an ECIR was registered by the enforcement directorate on March 5, 2021, for investigation under the PMLA, 2002.
There are allegations by the ED that approximately ₹37.89 crore ( ₹17.89 crore of the HSIIDC and ₹20 crore of the NHAI) of government money, which were meant for compensation to the actual land owners whose lands were acquired by HSIIDC and NHAI, were embezzled by Naresh Kumar Sheokand in connivance with Chandra Shekhar and other private persons by transferring the same to private persons whose lands were not acquired by HSIIDC and NHAI.
The ED on August 21 had arrested Chandra Shekhar as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation linked to alleged financial fraud with the NHAI and the HSIIDC.
The special PMLA court had sent him to the ED custody for seven days. In July, the ED had arrested Sheokhand, a former District Revenue Officer-cum-land acquisition collector of Panchkula, in this case.
Shekhar’s counsel argued that the arrest of the applicant is in violation of the mandate of Section-19 of the PMLA, 2002, as the present applicant was not furnished with a copy of the grounds of arrest in written format and hence such violation of the mandatory requirement under the PMLA, 2002, vitiates the arrest of the applicant in the present case.
The bail application mentioned that Sheokhand, co-accused, has been granted regular bail in the present case on October 17 by this court and as such he also deserves the concession of bail on the grounds of parity.
It also mentioned that Shekhar is a heart patient and suffering from multiple ailments. The special PMLA court granted bail to accused Chander Shekhar on furnishing bail bonds of ₹1 lakh with one surety in the like amount and compliance of other conditions.
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