Vigilance court orders confiscation of ex-BJP MLA's assets

A vigilance court today ordered confiscation of movable and immovable assets worth Rs 22.81 lakh of former Deputy Excise Commissioner and ex-BJP MLA Sonelal Hembram.
The designated vigilance court judge Vipul Sinha passed the order on an application filed by the vigilance department in 2011 praying for confiscation of Hembram's property amassed beyond his known sources of income.
It is the first instance in Bihar where a court has ordered confiscation of ill-gotten property of a politician.
Hembram had joined the BJP after retiring from service in 2002 and was elected on its ticket to the state Assembly in 2010 from Katoria in Banka district.

The vigilance department had lodged a case under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, in 2000 against Hembram three years after the Income Tax department had raided his various premises in 1997 unearthing details of his unaccounted property.
As per the vigilance court's order, Hembram's movable and immovable property to be seized included a house in Patel Nagar colony, Patna, three plots in Ranchi and Jharkhand, Rs 42,550 in cash, investment of Rs 88,000 in UTI, Rs 35,000 in Kisan Vikas Patra, gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 6.10 lakh and a car.