The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached the assets worth Rs 3.36 crore belonging to Panna Lal Mahto, alias Ganjhu, and others under the provision of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) related to the offences of human trafficking.
The attached properties include five land parcels in Argora, Ranchi, four land parcels in Khunti district, cash deposits of Rs 17.71 lakh in various bank accounts and one Toyota Fortuner vehicle, the ED said in a statement.
The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of FIRs and chargesheet registered by Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) District-Khunti Jharkhand against Panna Lal Mahto and his accomplices.
Further, the FIR bearing No. 07/19 dated July 19. 2019 of AHTU, Khunti, Jharkhand was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Ranchi which also filed chargesheet under the sections of Indian Penal Code, Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, 1979 and Juvenile Justice (Care and protection) Act, 2015.
“During investigation under PMLA, it was revealed that Panna Lal Mahto and his accomplices were running Human Trafficking racket in the guise of several Placement Agencies in Delhi which used to do illicit trade of poor and innocent persons (including minors) from different districts of Jharkhand on the pretext of providing them jobs in Delhi and further trafficked them to different states as domestic servant and other purposes, who were never paid actual wages or the wages as promised to them,” it said.
These placement agencies were running without obtaining license under the Delhi Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Order, 2014 or the labourers (victims) were registered under the provisions of The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
Mahto and his accomplices used to ill-treat the victims and did not allow them to return to their respective native village and forced them to work against their desire. By committing the scheduled offence under the PMLA, Panna Lal Mahto in connivance with others had trafficked about 5,000 persons through their well-organized placement agency racket in Delhi as he had himself admitted in his statement given to the ED that he had acquired assets to the extent of Rs 4.5-5 crore.
Investigation under PMLA, 2002 revealed that Panna Lal Mahto alias Ganjhu has acquired various immovable and movable properties to the tune of Rs 3.36 crore,in his name and in the name of his wife Sunita Devi and projected them as untainted properties, it added.