ITANAGAR / CHANDIGARH:
New details emerging from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) have laid bare how a former Deputy Commissioner allegedly converted public money into high-value real estate assets in broad daylight.
The ED, citing findings from its Itanagar Sub-Zonal Office, revealed the meticulous financial engineering deployed by Padma Jaiswal, IAS—the then Deputy Commissioner of West Kameng District, Bomdila (Arunachal Pradesh)—to siphon off public funds and channel them into properties for her close relatives.
The Modus Operandi: Dissolving Public Funds in Plain Sight
According to the ED, the money laundering investigation originated from an FIR by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Guwahati, culminating in a chargesheet filed before the Special Judge (P.C. Act) in Yupia.
Investigators detailed how the former bureaucrat bypassed standard bureaucratic checks through a direct and fraudulent scheme:
Targeting Deposit at Call Receipts (DCRs)
The ED stated that Padma Jaiswal, operating in criminal conspiracy with other public servants including a finance officer and cashier, "fraudulently dissolv[ed] three Government Deposit at Call Receipts (DCRs)."
Falsifying Official Transactions: The conspirators engineered the issuance of "ten Demand Drafts aggregating to ₹28 Lakh in favour of private individuals by falsely portraying the transactions as Government transactions."
Tracing the Crime Trail
From ₹28 Lakh to ₹1.51 Crore in Assets
The Enforcement Directorate underscored that the core proceeds of crime amounted to ₹28 Lakh.
However, through strategic acquisitions and market appreciation, these diverted funds grew into a massive portfolio of immovable and movable properties now provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Chandigarh Commercial Property (₹1.42 Crore Value)
The ED disclosed that out of the ₹28 Lakh siphoned funds, "an amount of ₹19 Lakh was diverted and utilised in connection with the acquisition of Booth No. 274, Sector-40D, Chandigarh, in the name of Vishu Bhanu Partap Mahto, the brother of Padma Jaiswal."
Through banking transactions and property papers, investigators tracked the exact money route.
Today, assessed by a registered valuer, the fair market value of this single commercial booth has skyrocketed to ₹1.42 Crore.
The Mohali Plot Shift & Mutual Funds (₹9 Lakh)
The remaining proceeds of crime—amounting to ₹9 Lakh—were initially routed through three Demand Drafts aimed at acquiring a plot in Sector-86, Mohali, under the name of Pooja Jaiswal, daughter of the former DC.
Though that specific property transaction was later cancelled, the ED clamped down on equivalent assets, attaching mutual fund investments worth ₹9 Lakh (held in an SBI Multicap Growth fund under Padma Jaiswal's name).
A Landmark Corruption Case
The expose comes on the heels of extensive administrative scrutiny surrounding Jaiswal, whose 18-year legal and disciplinary battle concluded with her removal from the Indian Administrative Service.
With the total assessed value of provisionally attached properties currently standing at ₹1.51 Crore, the ED has confirmed that further investigations into the extended financial network are actively underway.
