STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office, has provisionally attached three immovable property having total value of Rs 65.60 lakh (approx.) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in a case relating to disproportionate assets against Hem Chandra Borah, Deputy Chief Engineer, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), and his wife Gayatree Saikia, a government school teacher at Bhaskar Bidyapith Higher Secondary School, Guwahati.
ED initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), AC-I, New Delhi against Hem Chandra Borah under Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and against Gayatree Saikia under Section 109 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(e) of the PC Act, 1988, for possession of assets disproportionate to known sources of income. CBI subsequently filed Chargesheet No. 06 dated 25.03.2025 before the Competent Court.
ED investigation, based on a detailed analysis of the CBI charge sheet and independent enquiries under PMLA, revealed that during the check period from Apirl 1, 2016 to January 17, 2021, Hem Chandra Borah, in connivance with his wife Gayatree Saikia, accumulated assets grossly disproportionate to their known sources of income to the tune of Rs. 73.76 Lakh (approx.), constituting 86.88% of their total income from all known legitimate sources during the said period.
Investigation further revealed that the accused adopted a systematic method to launder the Proceeds of Crime. Despite holding seven bank accounts between them, Hem Chandra Borah and Gayatree Saikia’s total ATM and UPI withdrawals amounted to a mere Rs. 1,36,894. The investigation established that the accused used illicit cash - received as gratification - to meet all day-to-day household expenses, thereby preserving their legitimate salary in bank accounts. The accumulated salary was then channelled through cheque payments to acquire immovable properties, projecting them as untainted assets. Further investigation is under progress.
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