Chandigarh, July 5, 2024 (Yes Punjab News)
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday has arrested Gaurav Gupta, ex-Municipal Councilor Kurali for helping the former Executive Officer (EO) of Municipal Council Zirakpur, Girish Verma, in a case of amassing disproportionate assets.
In this case Girish Verma and his accomplices Sanjiv Kumar, a resident of Kharar, and Pawan Kumar Sharma resident of Panchkula, a coloniser, had already been arrested by the VB.
Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of VB said the Mohali court has allowed police remand of Gaurav Gupta for 4 days to the VB for further investigation of this case. He informed that in this regard the VB had registered a case FIR no. 18 in the year 2022 for accumulating disproportionate assets against Girish Verma and others.
During investigation it was found that Girish Verma had purchased 19 prime residential/commercial properties in the names of his wife Sangeeta Verma and his son Vikas Verma.
He further revealed that said accused Girish Verma had remained posted as EO in the Municipal Councils of Zirakpur, Kharar, Kurali, Derabassi etc. and used to pass on wrongful benefits to the local builders/developers and in lieu of that he obtained illicit money in the form of bank entries in the names of his wife and son from the accounts of the said builders as unsecured loans.
“Moreover, younger son of Girish Verma, namely Vikas Verma, who is staying abroad, was also found to have been received financial aid from some local builders and developers to which investigation was under progress.
Further, this money was utilised to purchase properties. Vikas Verma and Sangeeta Verma did not have any lawful source of income other than rent from properties purchased with tainted money,” he added.
The spokesperson informed that the said Vikas Verma became partner in year 2019-20 in the real estate firms ‘Balaji Infra Buildtech’ and ‘Balaji Developers’ by laundering black money of his father and changing its colour by availing bank entries as unsecured loans from other partners in these firms and returning money to them in cash.
Revealing the modus operandi, he said Vikas Verma’s co-accused partners, Sanjiv Kumar, Gaurav Gupta and Ashish Sharma, all residents of Kurali, indulged in fraudulent activities by preparing antedated agreements to sell of plots and getting residential colonies regularised in a clandestine manner.
He added that accused Gaurav Gupta, was founder of these firms and a major partner, having 80 percent share, in Balaji Infra Buildtech who had invested crores of rupees as his shares alongside other partners to purchase agricultural land in Kharar and then unlawfully got residential colony regularised on this land.
Thereafter, 15 percent of his share was finally transferred to Vikas Verma, son of Girish Verma.
He informed that anticipatory bail of Sanjiv Kumar, Gaurav Gupta and Vikas Verma were earlier dismissed by the High Court. Moreover, Sanjiv Kumar approached Supreme Court for his bail, but didn’t get any relief and proclamation proceedings were initiated by the Mohali court against Gaurav Gupta and Vikas Verma.
The spokesperson further added that in this case another accused Pawan Kumar Sharma resident of Panchkula, a coloniser, had also been arrested in June 2023 for helping the former EO Girish Verma for amassing disproportionate assets.
He further informed that Pawan Kumar Sharma had helped Girish Verma in getting illicit enrichment by selling an open plinth (storage godown) situated on 5 acres of land at Village Khudal Kalan, Tehsil Bareta, in Mansa district having capacity of 25000MT by showing it as an agricultural land.
This land was registered undervalued by Pawan Kumar who had been doing real estate business in the area of MC Zirakpur, where Girish Verma had remained posted as EO for a long time and had provided him undue benefits in return, he added.
