ED conducts raids on 7 locations across country
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids on seven locations across the country in connection with the Rs 1,500 crore Gomti riverfront scam.
The seven locations where ED conducted raids included Lucknow and Noida. ED officials conducted raids in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan as well.
The ED had filed a case in this matter last year. The CBI had taken over the investigation after the present Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh ordered an inquiry into the beautification project of the Gomti river front.
The project was carried out by the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) dispensation.
The Uttar Pradesh government had asked for an investigation into irregularities committed with a “criminal intent” in the implementation of the Gomti River Channelisation Project and the Gomti River Front Development by the state’s Department of Irrigation.
The CBI had filed an FIR against then chief engineers Gulesh Chandra, S N Sharma, Qazim Ali, then superintendent engineers Mangal Yadav, Akhil Raman, Kamaleshwar Singh, Roop Singh Yadav and executive engineer Surendra Yadav.
Gulesh Chandra, Mangal Yadav, Akhil Raman and Roop Singh Yadav have retired.
The state government had constituted a committee under retired Allahabad High Court judge Alok Kumar Singh, which had indicated prima facie irregularities in the project in its report dated May 16, 2017.
The Uttar Pradesh Police had registered a case on June 19 on the basis of this report.
The state government subsequently sought a CBI probe into the matter in July 2017.
The Centre referred the matter to the CBI on November 24, 2017 on the basis of which the agency took over the investigation in the matter.
(With PTI inputs)
