ED arrests Indore businessman linked to housing cooperative scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested one Dilip Sisodiya, an Indore-based businessman under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case linked to the alleged illegal sale of co-operative land valued at more than Rs 1,000 crore in the city.

Deepak Sisodiya alias Deepak Jain Madda was arrested on 3 June, ED sources said, adding that a special PMLA court had granted the agency custody of the accused for seven days.

The investigation was initiated on the basis of various FIRs lodged in Indore, related to the illegal sale and alienation of the lands of Housing Co-operative Societies by Sisodiya and other builders and developers. Sisodiya, in connivance with others, sold huge parcels of land belonging to societies at lesser rates, flouting the rules applicable to Housing Co-operative Societies. The market value of these lands is estimated to be over Rs 1,000 crore.

Housing Co-operative Societies are granted exemptions under Section 20 of the Urban Land Ceiling Act, which allows them to acquire land exceeding the landholding limit prescribed for various entities.

The ED investigation found that Sisodiya was able to enter some of these Societies by getting elected as an office-bearer through manipulated votes. He also indirectly influenced decision-making by placing selected individuals in key decision-making positions in the Housing Co-operative Society. Earlier, the ED searched the residences of Dilip Sisodiya and his associates and seized Rs 91.21 lakh in cash along with other incriminating documents.