The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Itanagar sub-zonal office has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 1.51 crore belonging to former West Kameng Deputy Commissioner Padma Jaiswal and others in connection with a money laundering investigation.
The attachment was carried out under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, through Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) No. 08/2026 dated November 13, 2026.
According to the ED, the attached properties include a commercial booth in Sector 40D, Chandigarh, registered in the name of Vishu Bhanu Partap Mahto, Jaiswal’s brother. The property, measuring 29.626 square yards, has an assessed market value of Rs 1.42 crore. Additionally, mutual fund investments worth Rs 9 lakh held by Jaiswal under the SBI Multicap Fund (Regular Growth) have also been attached.
The investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Branch, Guwahati. The CBI had named Jaiswal, former Finance and Accounts Officer Nor Bahadur Sonar, former Cashier Rinchin Phuntsok, and others under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
A charge sheet in the case was filed on August 30, 2024, before the Special Judge (PC Act) in Yupia, Papum Pare district.
The ED alleged that while serving as Deputy Commissioner of West Siang district, Jaiswal conspired with other public officials to misappropriate government funds. Investigators found that three government Deposit at Call Receipts (DCRs) were fraudulently encashed and ten demand drafts amounting to Rs 28 lakh were issued in favour of private individuals by falsely portraying them as government payments.
According to the agency, the diverted funds were later used to acquire properties in the names of close relatives. Of the total Rs 28 lakh identified as proceeds of crime, Rs 19 lakh was allegedly used to purchase the Chandigarh commercial property in the name of her brother. Banking records, demand drafts and registered property documents helped establish the money trail.
The remaining Rs 9 lakh, which had originally been earmarked for purchasing a plot in Sector 86, Mohali, in the name of Jaiswal’s daughter Pooja Jaiswal, was allegedly diverted after the proposed deal did not materialise. Mutual fund investments of an equivalent amount have now been attached in place of those funds.
The ED stated that while the total proceeds of crime identified in the case amount to Rs 28 lakh, the current assessed value of the attached properties stands at Rs 1.51 crore. Further investigation is ongoing.
