Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 2: The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 10.66 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the Patnitop Hotels land encroachment case, an official said on Monday.
The attached properties include the land and buildings of Hotel Holiday Inn, Hotel Broadway, Hotel Hollywood and Hotel Mountview, located in Patnitop hill resort in Udhampur district, an ED spokesperson said in a statement.
Earlier, the ED had issued two provisional attachment orders in 2025, attaching properties worth approximately Rs 30.72 crore in the same case.
With the latest attachment of Rs 10.66 crore, the cumulative value of properties provisionally attached in the case has reached approximately Rs 41.38 crore, he said.
The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jammu, against various owners and directors of hotels, guest houses, resorts, cottages and residential properties in the Patnitop area, as well as officials of the Patnitop Development Authority (PDA).
The allegations relate to the commercial use of residential buildings, construction beyond approved limits and operation of commercial establishments in prohibited areas, including dense forest, agricultural and residential zones, the spokesperson said, adding the investigation also revealed alleged lapses on the part of PDA officials in ensuring compliance with the prescribed rules and regulations.
In 2023, the CBI filed six chargesheets against eight hotel owners associated with six hotels and several PDA officials under various provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, Ranbir Penal Code, Registration of Tourist Trade Act, and Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act.
The ED investigation revealed that Hotel Holiday Inn, despite having sanctioned building permission, had raised unauthorised construction measuring 7,552.74 square feet beyond the approved building plan, the spokesman said.
He said it was further found that Hotel Broadway, Hotel Hollywood and Hotel Mountview were being commercially operated without obtaining the requisite permissions for running hotels.
Accordingly, the hotel buildings, unauthorised constructions, appurtenant land and identified properties equivalent in value to the proceeds generated through such unauthorised commercial exploitation have been provisionally attached as Proceeds of Crime under the PMLA, the spokesperson said.
He said further investigation in the case is underway. |
