ED searches 13 sites in Tripura, West Bengal and Maharashtra
The agency is investigating an alleged ₹14.55 crore government tender fraud involving shell companies and fictitious public entities.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at 13 locations in Tripura, West Bengal and Maharashtra on November 4. The agency's Agartala sub-zonal office carried out the operations under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, as part of a money-laundering probe.
According to Urban Acres, the investigation follows an FIR at the Capital Complex police station in West Tripura. The case originated from a complaint by Nagpur-based M/s SK Sales Corporation, which alleged it was defrauded regarding government tenders for the power sector and mid-day meal programme between September 2024 and February 2025.
The ED alleged that the complainant was induced to pay earnest money for tenders that the Tripura government had never issued. Investigators claim a fictitious entity, named the Directorate of Higher Education, was used to facilitate the fraud. The agency stated this entity was actually a private business owned by Utpal Kumar Chowdhury.
The agency alleged that suspended IAS officer Abhishek Chandra presented himself as a government authority and introduced the complainant to Chowdhury. The ED claims funds were moved through shell companies and traced to property purchases, including a residence in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park area and apartments in a housing complex, allegedly held in the names of Chandra’s family members.
The investigation also suspects the funds were used for luxury goods, international travel, and routed through a suspected hawala operator in Kolkata. The ED has not announced a final determination, and further action will depend on evidence gathered during the searches.