Rajkot: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated action in a disproportionate assets case involving a former Divisional Engineer of the Western Railway’s Rajkot Division, provisionally attaching properties and financial assets worth approximately ₹1.58 crore.

According to an official statement, the ED’s Bhopal Zonal Office on February 5, 2026, attached two residential flats along with 22 movable assets, including fixed deposits and bank balances, belonging to late Ved Prakash Srivastava and his wife, Vibha Srivastava. The attachment was carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch, Jabalpur, against Srivastava, who was serving as Divisional Engineer in the Western Railway’s Rajkot Division, and his wife. The FIR alleged the acquisition of assets disproportionate to known sources of income through misuse of his official position. The case was registered under Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Subsequently, the CBI filed Charge Sheet/Final Report No. 02/2023 dated May 22, 2023, before the Special Court for CBI cases in Jabalpur. The total proceeds of crime in the matter have been estimated at around ₹1.66 crore.

The ED’s probe found that alleged unaccounted cash generated through corrupt activities was initially retained and spent outside the banking system, as reflected by minimal withdrawals from bank accounts. Investigators further observed that portions of these funds were later deposited into multiple accounts held in the names of family members in an attempt to conceal the money trail. The funds were subsequently converted into fixed deposits, investments, and immovable properties, including residential flats purchased in the names of relatives with no independent source of income.

Further investigation in the case is ongoing. DeshGujarat