Patna: The Enforcement Directorate has seized two properties of Bihar’s JD-U MLC Radhacharan Seth for his alleged involvement in illegal sand mining and causing a loss to the government exchequer, an official said.
A ED official said that Seth has a school in Ghaziabad (UP) and a resort in Manali (Himachal Pradesh) having total value of Rs 26.19 crore which are being seized now.
The MLC is facing charges of running a syndicate in Bihar’s Bhojpur, Patna, and Rohtas districts and earning crores through illegal mining of sand in Sone and Ganga rivers.
Due to his illegal activities, the state exchequer has registered a hefty loss of more than Rs 161 crore.
The official said that initially Bihar Police took the action against Seth and registered 19 FIRs against him and his son Kanhaiya Prasad. He had formed a company named Brandson Ltd and started the sand mining in Sone river. He has taken the contracts of sand mining through a tendering process but illegally sold sand without paying the taxes to the state government.
Brandson Ltd was owned by Kanhaiya Prasad.
In June last year, the ED had conducted raids at the premises of Seth in Arrah, Patna, Ranchi and some other places and seized Rs 1.49 crore.
Following that incident, ED arrested Seth, Kanhaiya Prasad, Mithilesh Kumar Singh, Baban Singh, Surendra Kumar Jindal and they are in jail still.
Seth ran a sweets shop outside the Arrah railway station in Bhjojpur district, before entering in the sand mining business and earned crores.
Besides him, the ED has also seized the properties worth Rs 12.96 crore of another sand mafia Jaynarayan Singh. He and his son Satish Singh are running a company named Aditya Multicom Pvt Ltd. It is also in the mining business and sold sand worth crores of rupees butd did not pay the taxes to the state government.
(IANS)
