New Delhi, May 9: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached property worth Rs 14.48 crore of former government engineer Yadav Singh as part of its probe in a corruption case against him, an official said on Wednesday.

"We attached assets worth Rs 14.48 crore of Yadav Singh in a disproportionate assets case. The attachment made under Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Total attachments worth Rs 20.38 crore have been made in this case till date," the ED official said.

Singh was engineer-in-chief of the Noida Authority, Greater Noida Authority and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority in Uttar Pradesh.

Raids conducted by the Income Tax Department in November 2014 revealed that Singh owned huge property disproportionate to his known sources of income.

He was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government in February 2015 and one-member judicial commission to probe into the multi-crore case set up by the state government.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered three FIRs against Singh, with the most recent one filed on January 17, for allegedly misused his official position for awarding contracts in violation of norms.

The two previous cases were lodged against Singh and others in July 2015 after the Allahabad High Court directed the CBI to probe the case stating that the allegations were most serious and the probe was complex.

The ED is probing money laundering charges against Singh who was arrested in February 2016 and has been chargesheeted in two cases. Singh is presently lodged in judicial custody at Dasna jail in Ghaziabad.

Singh's son Sunny and daughters Garima and Karuna are also accused in the CBI FIR. Singh's family is alleged of utilising his illegal money to form a company.

 

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Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.

The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.

Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.

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MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.

“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.

The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.

Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.

"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.

All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.

A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.

After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.

After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.

The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.

Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.

Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.

"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.

Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.

"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.