Mumbai PMLA Court Rejects Bail of Former Corporator in ₹37 Crore Vasai-Virar Land Grab Case
A special PMLA court in Mumbai has denied bail to former corporator Sitaram Gupta, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged ₹37 crore land grabbing and money laundering case in Vasai-Virar.
According to investigators, Gupta is accused of playing a major role in illegally taking control of nearly 60 acres of land between 2006 and 2011 with the help of forged documents and intimidation. Authorities allege that the land was later sold as plots and used for unauthorized construction projects, generating proceeds of crime worth ₹37.23 crore.
The ED also claimed that around 30 acres of the disputed land belonged to CIDCO and had been reserved for a sewage treatment plant.
Gupta’s lawyer argued that he has been falsely implicated, pointing out that he served as a corporator for 18 years and that the original allegations date back to 2008, while the ECIR was registered much later. The defense also said no flat buyers had filed complaints against him.
However, the court observed that available records indicate Gupta had a central role in the alleged illegal transactions and that proceeds of crime were generated from the offences. Based on these findings, the court rejected his bail plea.
News source: Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
