ED attaches fresh assets worth over Rs 1,500 crore in Sahara case
New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has attached fresh assets worth more than Rs 1,500 crore as part of a money-laundering investigation against the Sahara Group.
A provisional order was issued by the federal probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach a total of 1,023 acres of land of Sahara Prime City Limited in 16 cities.
The total value of these plots is Rs 1,538 crore (according to the 2016 circle rate). These pieces of land were purchased through "benami" transactions, with the funds "diverted" from Sahara entities, the agency said in a statement.
These pieces of land are located in Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, the statement said.
Last week, the ED attached 707 acres of land in Amby Valley, located in Maharashtra's Lonavala, worth Rs 1,460 crore (market value).
The money-laundering case stems from more than 500 FIRs filed by various state police departments.
Three FIRs registered against Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited (HICCSL) and others by police in Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan, apart from more than 500 such complaints filed against Sahara Group entities and related persons, have been analysed by the ED.
The agency alleged that the Sahara Group was running a "Ponzi" scheme through various entities, such as HICCSL, Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited (SCCSL), Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Cooperative Society (SUMCS), Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (SMCSL), Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited (SICCL), Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL), Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHICL) and other group entities.
"The group has cheated the depositors and agents by alluring them with high returns and commissions respectively, and utilised the funds collected in a non-regulated manner without any information or control of the depositors," the ED said.
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MP minister's veiled remark on Col Sofia Qureshi sparks major row; he apologises, Cong seeks ouster
Bhopal/Indore, May 13 (PTI): Madhya Pradesh Minister and BJP leader Vijay Shah has sparked a major controversy with objectionable comments that appeared to be directed at Col Sofia Qureshi, whom he tried to project as a "sister of terrorists."
Under severe flak, Shah said if anyone is hurt by his statement, he is ready to apologise ten times, adding that he respects Colonel Qureshi more than his sister.
The Congress has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Shah from the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.
Colonel Qureshi had conducted regular press briefings, sharing details of the 'Operation Sindoor' launched by Indian armed forces to strike terrorists, joined by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh.
"Those people (terrorists) who had wiped out the sindoor (vermilion) of our sisters (in the Pahalgam terror attack)..We avenged these 'kate-pite' people by sending their sister to destroy them," Shah said.
"They (terrorists) killed our Hindu brothers by making them remove their clothes. PM Modi ji responded by sending their (terrorists') sister in an Army plane to strike them in their houses. They (terrorists) made our sisters widows, so Modiji sent the sister of their community to strip them and teach them a lesson", the BJP leader said while addressing a gathering in Ramkunda village near Indore.
He said, "Revenge was taken for the honour of our country (India), respect, and for the (slain) husbands of our sisters by sending a sister from your (terrorists') community to Pakistan".
The tribal welfare minister clarified that his remarks should not be construed otherwise.
Shah's remarks drew wide-scale condemnation, with Congress demanding his immediate dismissal from the MP cabinet.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said Shah, who made 'derogatory' remarks in reference to Colonel Sofia Qureshi, should be dismissed immediately.
"A minister of the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh has made a very derogatory, shameful and cheap remark about our brave daughter Colonel Sofia Qureshi. The terrorists of Pahalgam wanted to divide the country, but the country was united during the entire 'Operation Sindoor' to give a befitting reply to the terrorists," Kharge posted on X.
He alleged that the BJP-RSS harbours an anti-women mentality.
"First, the wife of the naval officer martyred in Pahalgam was trolled on social media, then the daughter of Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was harassed, and now the BJP ministers are making such indecent comments about our brave woman Sophia Qureshi," Kharge said and appealed to PM Modi to immediately sack Shah.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari shared the video of Shah on X and asked whether the BJP agrees with the minister's "low thinking"?
The MP Congress Committee alleged that Shah's "indecent' and hate-filled" statement is not just a personal attack, but an open attack on India's military dignity, national unity, and women's honour.
Amid the raging controversy, the BJP's Madhya Pradesh general secretary Hitanand Sharma summoned Shah to the state headquarters in Bhopal.
According to sources, Sharma reprimanded the minister, who also met the state BJP president, Vishnu Dutt Sharma.
Speaking to reporters, Shah sought to attribute the intemperate remarks to his "disturbed" state of mind in view of the brutal killing of innocent people in Pahalgam by terrorists.
He claimed many members of his family have a military background and many were martyred.
"Sister Sophia has brought glory to India by rising above caste and religion. She is more respected than our own sister. I salute her for her service to the nation.
"We cannot even think of insulting her in our dreams. Still, if my words have hurt society and religion, then I am ready to apologise ten times,'' he added.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Manoj Shukla and the party workers blackened the nameplate of Shah at his bungalow and raised slogans seeking his resignation.
'हमारी सेना की जांबाज बेटियां आतंकवादियों की बहन हैं'
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 13, 2025
- ये घटिया बात मध्य प्रदेश में BJP सरकार के मंत्री विजय शाह ने कही है।
भारत की जिन बेटियों पर सबको नाज है, उन बेटियों को लेकर ये शर्मनाक बयान दिया गया है। उन्हें आतंकवादियों की बहन बताया गया है।
ये हमारी पराक्रमी सेना का… pic.twitter.com/y591M3ky8G
