New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Ranchi Zonal Office has filed a supplementary prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, before the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi against Dinesh Gope, the self-styled chief of the banned Naxal outfit, People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), in connection with a terror funding case, an official said on Saturday.
The chargesheet also names 19 other persons and entities involved in terror financing and money laundering activities. According to the ED, the PLFI raised an estimated ₹20 crore through systematic extortion and levy collection.
Earlier, in August, the ED arrested Dinesh Gope, who is currently in judicial custody in Palamu Central Jail. Gope, a notorious Maoist leader, was apprehended by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Nepal on May 21, 2023. Before his arrest, the Jharkhand government had announced a reward of ₹25 lakh and the NIA had offered ₹5 lakh for information leading to his capture.
During interrogation in July 2023, Gope confessed to extortion and laundering money through shell companies managed by his close relatives and associates. Investigations found that firms such as Bhavya Engikan Pvt Ltd, Shiv Shakti Minerals Pvt Ltd, Shakti Samriddhi Infra Pvt Ltd, and Palak Enterprises were used to channel illicit funds. These companies were run by his wives Shakuntala Devi and Geeta, along with associate Sumant Kumar.
The NIA earlier seized ₹19.93 lakh from the bank accounts of Gope’s family and traced over ₹2.5 crore in suspicious transactions across 25 accounts. Assets including a flat in Ranchi and a residence in Edalhatu, valued at around ₹1 crore, were also attached.
The ED’s probe stems from a 2018 FIR at Bedo Police Station, Ranchi, where investigators uncovered attempts to deposit ₹25.38 lakh in demonetised currency. The agency is now expanding its investigation to identify Gope’s extensive extortion network and financial channels across Jharkhand and neighbouring states.
With inputs from IANS