Benami property worth Rs 208 cr of former Chief Engineer of UPSIDC in Lutyens' Delhi attached

Authorities have attached a benami property worth Rs 208 crore belonging to a senior official of Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC), government sources said on Wednesday.

The Delhi Benami Prohibition Unit made provisional attachment of the property at Prithviraj Road in central Delhi belonging to Arun Kumar Mishra, a former Chief Engineer of public sector undertaking UPSIDC.

Sources said the property was purchased in 2007 by Kolkata-based Ajanta Merchants for Rs 21.5 crore. The money trail showed that funds for purchasing it were gathered by 36 shell entities.

Cash deposits were made in various proprietory concerns, which ultimately reached Ajanta Merchants in the form of share capital and premium. The company was neither doing any significant business nor reporting a decent income justifying a premium on its shares.

Mishra later got control of Ajanta by appointing his brother and close associates as directors. One of them accepted in a sworn statement that he was merely signing the papers provided to him and was unaware of any transaction related to the property's purchase.

The property was being used by Mishra for his personal use. After the property's acquisition, Ajanta was controlled by Mishra through companies in which his family members and close associates are shareholders.