BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 27th August 2025 : The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Agartala Sub-Zonal Office, has seized 7 lakh in cash and frozen bank accounts holding nearly 60 lakh during search operations conducted on August 26 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The searches were carried out at four locations in Tripura, including the residence of Utpal Kumar Chowdhury, as well as in Delhi, Haryana, and West Bengal. Chowdhury, a resident of Tripura, is the key accused in the case.
According to the ED, the investigation stems from multiple FIRs filed by West Bengal Police against Chowdhury. Probes revealed that he had set up a network of entities with names resembling government departments and PSUs — such as Directorate of Higher Education, Tripura, Bridge and Roof Company, and Directorate of Apparel Council of India. By posing as a senior official, he allegedly duped people and institutions with false promises of government contracts, including mid-day meal tenders and student admissions.
The ED further found that Chowdhury fraudulently took over an NGO, M/s Chaltakhali Swamiji Seva Sangha, registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), and used it to launder more than ₹200 crore. Funds were allegedly routed to entities in Haryana, Kolkata, and Delhi under the guise of rubber trade, though no evidence of actual transactions or transport was found.
During the raids, the ED recovered incriminating digital and physical evidence, fake identity cards of the Ministry of Home Affairs, seals of Tripura government departments and PSUs, and documents pointing to real estate and land investments across the state. Investigators also suspect that Chowdhury leveraged his proximity to senior Tripura government officers, some of whom allegedly introduced him to businessmen as a high-ranking official and may have received large sums of money.Chowdhury is currently lodged in a Haryana jail. The ED said further investigation is in progress.
