Guwahati, Feb 6: Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Gangtok Sub-Zonal Office has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets valued at Rs. 32.57 Lakh belonging to Narendra Kumar Chettri, Smt. Jayanti Thapa w/o Narendra Kumar Chettri and other individuals under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attachment is in connection with the fraudulent siphoning of funds from the Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure and Eco Tourism (IHCAE), Chemchey, South Sikkim. Indian Himalayan Centre for Adventure & Ecotourism (IHCAE) located on a hill top of Chemchey Village, District Namchi at the altitude of 6582 ft. covering the area of 21.2 acre. The institute is the first of its kind in the entire North East region. IHCAE provides high standard eco-tourism and adventure related trainingcourses while emphasing on instilling the concept of adventure tourism without causing any environmental degradation.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR dated 13.06.2016 registered by the Sikkim Vigilance Police against Narendra Kumar Chettri, who, during his tenure as Assistant Director-cum-Principal of IHCAE, was found to have dishonestly and wilfully issued cheques amounting to Rs. 1.36 Crore to unauthorized persons without maintaining official records. These funds were transferred to private individuals, including his wife, and subsequently withdrawn in cash without any material procurement or legitimate transactions.
The assets provisionally attached include immovable property in the form of plot of land measuring 0.1280 hectares, located in South Sikkim owned by Narendra Chettri and movable properties in the form of Bank account balances across ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, and HDFC Bank, totalling Rs. 7.77 Lakh in the name of various individuals.
The investigation under PMLA continues, with further efforts to trace the remaining Proceeds of Crime and locate the individuals involved. ED remains committed to ensuring that properties and assets acquired through illegal activities are identified and secured to prevent their disposal and to safeguard public funds.
Further investigation is under progress.
