According to a major development, the Special Judge of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Chandigarh has summoned Mr Ravi Sekhar Sinha, Principal Chief Material Manager of Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, and two directors of EC Blades and Tools Pvt Ltd who are based in Chandigarh to stand trial for offences under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The case stems from a bribery scandal unearthed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February 2022.
Sinha was captured by the CBI for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 1.80 lakh. Then, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) brought a case against Sinha under Articles 44, 45 and 34 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, accusing Sinha along with company directors Sonu Arora and Rajan Gupta of money laundering.
The PMLA court has ruled that there is enough evidence presented in the complaint to indicate that the accused have committed money laundering as defined in Section 3 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002. The court asked all accused including Sinha and the directors of EC Blades and Tools Pvt Ltd to appear on October 4, 2024
Background of the Case
The CBI had initially registered the case in February 2022 after EC Blades and Tools Pvt Ltd was awarded a contract on December 14, 2021, to supply 28 sets of coach frames to Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, an entity under Indian Railways. According to the CBI’s allegations, the company’s directors, Sonu Arora and Rajan Gupta, engaged the services of an intermediary, Praveen Vyas, to contact the officers at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works and facilitate the payment of bribes in exchange for securing the contract and increasing the supply order quantity.
A CBI team conducted a sting operation at the locomotive works, where they apprehended Sinha while he was allegedly accepting the bribe. Following the inquiry, the CBI filed a chargesheet against the defendants, and the ED’s probe found that the company’s directors were directly involved in money laundering operations.
The PMLA court’s judgement emphasised that the accused’s activities justified a trial for money laundering, in addition to the bribery allegations that had already been brought. The lawsuit will now move forward with the next hearing planned for October 4, 2024.
