ED attaches 24 immovable properties worth ₹8.02 crore in Patna Railway Claims Tribunal scam

The ED investigation revealed that a huge amount of ₹10.27 crore was transferred from the claimants’ bank accounts to the bank accounts of the advocates. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 24 immovable properties worth ₹8.02 crore in connection with the money laundering case related to the alleged Patna Railway Claims Tribunal scam. On Friday (March 21, 2025), the agency filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) seeking confiscation of the properties and conviction of accused persons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED, in an official statement, listed the accused persons as advocates Bidyanand Singh, Parmanand Sinha and Kumari Rinki Sinha, Archana Sinha, Vijay Kumar, Nirmala Kumari and M/s Harijag Business and Development Pvt Ltd.

The Special Court (PMLA), Patna, took cognisance of the complaint on Friday (March 21, 2025). Earlier, on January 24, the ED had carried out search operations at four locations linked to Judge R.K. Mittal and other advocates in this case.

ED has initiated an investigation based on FIRs registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Patna , regarding mass-scale irregularity/criminality in the death claim cases filed, and decided by Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT), Patna, against unknown public servants of Railway, under various section of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

As per the FIRs, in the accidental death claim cases, only a part of the compensation amount was handed over to the claimants while a major chunk was siphoned off by the conspirators.

The ED investigation revealed that Mr. Singh and his team of lawyers dealt with around 900 cases where decrees/execution orders were issued by Judge Mittal and approximately ₹50 crore compensation were awarded to the claimants.

It was revealed that Mr. Singh and his team operated the claimants’ bank accounts without their knowledge, using signatures and thumb impressions to transfer the claim amount received from the Railways to their own accounts or cash withdrawals.

The investigation revealed that a huge amount of ₹10.27 crore was transferred from the claimants’ bank accounts to the bank accounts of the advocates.

The advocates and their wives acquired 24 immovable properties in their name and in the name of a company controlled by them by utilising these proceeds of crime in order to portray it as untainted. The immovable properties are located in Patna, Nalanda, Gaya (Bihar) and New Delhi.

Mr. Singh, Mr. Parmanand Sinha, and Mr. Kumar were arrested, and presently, all of the accused are in judicial custody. The ED asserted that further investigation was under progress.