ED attaches Rs 1.84 crore home of convicted ex-DTO Satish Kumar for manipulating e-pension software to divert retirement funds during 2012-2018 tenure in Nahan.
Guilty verdict from Sirmaur Special Judge post-May 2023 PMLA filing; probe stemmed from FIR under IPC and PC Act, exposing BRS data vulnerabilities.
Highlights digital system risks sans hard-copy checks; state vows audits, ED eyes more recoveries to protect public pension integrity.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached a residential property valued at approximately Rs 1.84 crore belonging to Satish Kumar, a former District Treasury Officer (DTO) in Himachal Pradesh's Nahan, in a money laundering probe tied to his conviction for tampering with the government's e-pension software to embezzle funds meant for retired employees. Kumar, who held the post from 2012 to 2018, was found guilty by the Special Judge in Sirmaur at Nahan following a chargesheet filed by the ED on May 31, 2023, under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), capping a years-long investigation sparked by an FIR at Nahan Police Station under IPC sections and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
ED sleuths unearthed a sophisticated scheme where Kumar exploited vulnerabilities in the e-pension system, downloading Bank Reconciliation Statements (BRS) data via Electronic Data Processing protocols onto CDs handed to banks without accompanying hard-copy summaries of pensioner counts and disbursal amounts, enabling unchecked manipulations that siphoned off public money intended for vulnerable retirees.
This action follows Kumar's criminal conviction, marking a rare swift judicial reckoning in bureaucratic graft cases that often languish in courts.
