ED attaches Rs 4.5 cr assets in cryptocurrency scam in Dehradun

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS) Movable and immovable properties amounting to Rs 4.56 crore were provisionally attached by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Dehradun, in the BTC Fund Scam that allegedly involved illegal sale of cryptocurrency, an official said on Saturday.

The seized assets, including four immovable properties and bank balances, belong to accused Hemant Sharma and others who allegedly cheated people through a website named ‘BTCFUND.in’.

The properties were seized under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. These belong to Hemant Sharma, son of Ishwar Sharma, resident of Rajpur Road, Dehradun, as per a statement.

The ED-initiated investigation on the basis of a First Information Report registered by Police Station Rajpur, Dehradun, and registered by Police Station Dineshpur, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, under penal provisions related to cheating against Hemant Sharma and others.

ED investigation revealed that Hemant Sharma had fraudulently received substantial amounts from sale of cryptocurrency, which were invested by multiple people on the site named BTCFUND.in, controlled by Hemant Sharma and other co-accused.

Hemant Sharma has lured various persons on the pretext of high return and claimed that many foreign nationals were also associated with the company and people from all over India had invested in the site.

The ED investigation revealed that the proceeds of crime generated by committing the offence, of cheating various people, were further utilised for acquiring four immovable properties by Hemant Sharma and a part of these was deposited in his bank account.

In 2019, the Uttarakhand capital was rocked by another Bitcoin scam allegedly involving Rs 485 crore. The scam revolved around two cryptocurrency companies – BITZEX and BTC BITZ COIN SHUKKOR – which lured investors with high returns.

The mastermind of the scam was murdered and police arrested seven people, including three from Mallapuram in Kerala. The three accused were taken into custody from Mandowala in Dehradun just before they were planning to surrender in court.

–IANS

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Bhopal, Dec 19 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh government is gearing up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Chhatapur to lay the foundation stone for the Ken-Betwa link project on December 25.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will visit the Bundelkhand region on Thursday to review the state government’s preparations and participate in several programmes organised in different districts ahead of PM Modi’s visit.

The Chief Minister will participate in the ‘Kisan Sammelan’ (farmers gathering) at a stadium in Chhatarpur district. The farmers from districts Panna, Chhatarpur, Sagar of Bundelkhand region will attend the event.

Chief Minister Yadav will address the gathering of farmers to inform them about the benefits of the much-talked Ken-Betwa river linking project between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Later, he will participate in a ‘Jal Kalash Yatra’ being organised in Panna district. A group of women will take out a vibrant procession through the streets. Further, the Chief Minister will attend a ‘Sant Sammelan’ (gathering of saints) in Panna.

All these events are being organised under the ‘Jan-Kalyan Parv’, a campaign launched on the completion of one year of the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh.

The Ken-Betwa River interlinking project will transport excess water from the Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the Betwa River in Uttar Pradesh to irrigate the drought-prone Bundelkhand region.

PM Modi will visit Chhatarpur to lay the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa river linking project on the occasion of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary on December 25.

Earlier, CM Yadav said that the project will provide water for irrigation for over 8.1 lakh hectares in MP’s Bundelkhand region and another 2.5 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh. Chhatarpur, Panna, Tikamgarh, Niwari, Sheopur, Damoh, Datia, Raisen, Vidisha and Sagar districts will benefit from the project.

Notably, a similar river interlining project was initiated between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. A tripartite agreement was signed between MP, Rajasthan, and the Central government in the presence of PM Modi in Jaipur on Tuesday.

The project will provide water for 6.1 lakh hectares of farmland under irrigation in 11 districts of Madhya Pradesh, including Guna, Rajgarh, Shivpuri, Dewas, Ujjain, Agar, Mandsaur and Morena.

–IANS

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Four linked to Canada-based terrorist Arsh Dalla arrested in Punjab

Chandigarh, Dec 16 (IANS) Punjab Police’s Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) in a joint operation with Mohali Police, arrested four operatives of Canada-based terrorist Arsh Dalla and another foreign based-handler and recovered three .32 calibre pistols along with 16 cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP), Gaurav Yadav, here on Monday.

Those arrested have been identified as Gagandeep Singh and Navjot Singh, both residents of Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib, Lakhwinder Singh, a resident of Bhadson in Patiala and Vipanpreet Singh, a resident of Faridkot.

Besides recovering arms and ammunition from them, the police have also impounded their white Swift car, in which they were travelling.

DGP Yadav said the accused confessed to have fired at a car accessories showroom in Phase 11, Mohali on the intervening night of December 1 and 2 with an intention to intimidate the shop owner and extort money from him as directed by their foreign-based handler, Daljit Singh, alias Ninda.

He is a history-sheeter and fled to the US on a passport with fake particulars and is associated with a radicalised US-based gangster.

The DGP said the module was linked to radical Arsh Dalla and was planning to execute more crimes in Punjab at his behest.

All the arrested accused have an extensive criminal history with a number of cases registered against them, the DGP said, adding further investigations are ongoing to identify more people involved in this module.

Additional Director General of Police, (AGTF), Promod Ban said following the firing incident at a car accessories showroom, special teams of the AGTF under the supervision of AIG Gurmeet Chauhan and AIG Sandeep Goel in coordination with Senior Superintendent of Police (Mohali), Deepak Pareek, were formed to crack the case.

The teams gathered CCTV footages, technical inputs and evidence from the crime spot which led to identification of the accused, including the two shooters involved in the crime, he said.

Acting swiftly, the teams traced them while they were travelling in their car and arrested them from Mohali after recovering weapons used in the crime, he said.

–IANS

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