The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chennai Zonal Office, has seized assets worth ₹18.10 crore during search operations conducted on Wednesday. The ED conducted searches in 15 locations of three districts including Chennai, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu.
The case pertains to large-scale fraud relating to forgery of land records and wrongful claim of compensation in land acquisitions carried out by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT).
In a press release, the ED said it had initiated investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by Sriperumbudur and Kancheepuram Police stations in 2021 and 2022 for offences related to forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy and fraudulent receipt of compensation.
The FIRs alleged that lands originally provided by entities of the VGP Group in 1991 for public utilities such as roads and parks were subsequently reclaimed through forged and fabricated documents by V.G.S. Rajesh and then sold to private persons shortly before acquisition by NHAI and SIPCOT.
In proceedings related to these matters, the Madras High Court had also observed that various persons had fraudulently claimed ownership of lands before acquisition, resulting in huge loss to the public exchequer.
