Economic Fraud
ED Raids Rape Accused IAS Sanjeev Hans, Seizes 15 Luxury Watches, Cash, and Property Worth Crores: Full Details Inside
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at four locations across three cities linked to middlemen, business associates, and a batchmate of Bihar IAS officer Sanjeev Hans as part of an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The probe also involves former Jhanjharpur MLA Gulab Yadav.
According to ED sources, the raids took place on Tuesday at two locations in Delhi connected to a middleman alleged to have facilitated bribes between Hans and his batchmate. The next day, locations in Mumbai and Kolkata linked to Hans’ batchmate and a business associate who allegedly brokered several deals for Hans and Yadav were also raided.
The raids led to the seizure of Rs 85-90 lakh in unaccounted cash, 13 kg of silver bullion, and incriminating documents, including evidence of hawala transactions.
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Hans, an IAS officer from the 1997 batch, was recently transferred from his position as principal secretary in the Bihar energy department to the General Administration Department following ED raids in July. Meanwhile, Yadav had quit the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to join the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for the 2024 parliamentary elections, although he came third in Jhanjharpur.
The money laundering case, filed by the ED, is based on an FIR registered by the Patna Police on the direction of a lower court, which was acting on a complaint by a lawyer from the Allahabad High Court. The lawyer alleged that Hans and Yadav had sexually assaulted her for years. Although the Patna High Court quashed the case against Hans on 6 August, the money laundering investigation against Yadav remains ongoing.
The ED claims to have provided a 15-page list of evidence against Hans to Bihar’s vigilance department, which is now seeking the state government’s approval to initiate criminal proceedings. According to an ED official, Hans’ batchmate, who runs a real estate business in Mumbai, allegedly used bribes to resolve government matters through a middleman in Delhi, further implicating Hans in the case.
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The raids conducted earlier this week follow a first round of actions in July, where nearly 20 locations were searched, including Hans’ Patna residence and properties linked to his wife in Delhi and his native place in Amritsar. During those raids, the ED seized luxury watches worth approximately Rs 40 lakh and 1,100 grams of gold.
The bond between Hans and Yadav reportedly began around 2012-13 when Hans served as the district magistrate of Madhubani, where Jhanjharpur is located. Their relationship allegedly led to a joint venture involving Hans’ wife and Yadav to establish a CNG station in Pune, Maharashtra.