Abhay Kant Pathak, an ex-member of the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) from the 1987 batch of the Odisha cadre who was serving as the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Plan, Programme, and Afforestation for the Government of Odisha, was the subject of a search, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) reported on Tuesday.
A BMW-620D GT Car with the registration number OD-07-AG-7272 with a value of Rs 74.22 lakhs was seized in accordance with the PMLA, 2002.
It was discovered during the investigation under the PMLA, 2002 that Akash Kumar Pathak, the son of Abhay Kant Pathak, had secretly tried to sell the abovementioned BMW automobile to a resident of Belagaavi, Karnataka, who worked as a dealer of used cars in Mumbai.
According to a FIR filed by the Vigilance Cell PS, Cuttack, Odisha, for disproportionate assets (DA) totaling Rs 9,35,42,594 by Abhay Kant Pathak and his family, the ED had started an inquiry under the PMLA, 2002.
It was also disclosed that Akash Kumar Pathak S/O Abhay Kant Pathak and Abhay Kant Pathak were parties to seven additional FIRs and chargesheets filed by the Odisha Police, alleging that they defrauded naive persons into believing they were offering positions at Tata Motors.
The ED had previously conducted a search operation on December 3, 2021, in accordance with the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, at the residence of Abhay Kant Pathak located at Flat No. 101, Viswanath Villa, Vivekananda Marg, Bhubaneswar, which led to the seizure of a Tata Harrier car valued at Rs 15 Lakhs as well as numerous incriminating documents/evidence.
The ED then issued a Provisional Attachment Order against Abhay Kant Pathak and others, which attached some properties belonging to them that were valued at Rs 29.83 lakhs.
Prasanta Patnaik