Jammu, Oct 17 : In an operation conducted on Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate carried out searches in Jammu and its neighboring regions as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering activities related to an educational trust. This trust is linked to Kanta Andotra, the wife of former minister Lal Singh, and a former government official named Ravinder S. The investigation is centered on suspected irregularities in the acquisition of land for the trust’s purposes.
The federal agency executed search operations at approximately eight locations spanning Jammu, Kathua, and Pathankot in Punjab. The focus of this probe is the RB Educational Trust, chaired by Kanta Andotra, and the alleged involvement of Ravinder S, a former revenue official.
This money laundering case originated from a charge sheet filed by the CBI in October 2021. The charge sheet alleged unlawful collaboration in the allocation of land between January 4 and January 7, 2011. It specifically highlighted a lack of transparency regarding the violation of the 100 standard kanals ceiling limit imposed under Section 14 of the Jammu and Kashmir Agrarian Reforms Act, 1976, which purportedly resulted in unjust financial advantages being granted to the trust.
According to the CBI charge sheet, the trust obtained multiple parcels of land totaling approximately 329 kanals through three gift deeds executed on January 5 and January 7, 2011. The ED’s investigation has revealed that the excess land acquired has been actively utilized by the trust for operating DPS Schools and engaging in other commercial activities.
The premises covered during Tuesday’s searches included those associated with the trust, its chairperson, the land donors, individuals holding power of attorney on behalf of the land donors, witnesses who participated in the deeds, and the patwari who allegedly issued wrongful fards to enable the RB Educational Trust to execute the deeds.
