ED seizes ₹38.43L, freezes assets in ₹30Cr sand mining scam across Maharashtra, MP.

The Enforcement Directorate seized ₹38.43 lakh in unaccounted cash and froze eight vehicles, including a BMW, in a crackdown on illegal sand mining across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Raids at 16 locations revealed a network using forged Electronic Transit Permits to falsely claim legal sand transport from Madhya Pradesh ghats, despite GPS data showing vehicles never visited those sites. The syndicate, allegedly led by Rahul Khanna and Bablu Agarwal, sold fake permits for ₹6,000–10,000 each, enabling illegal extraction near Nagpur and evading taxes and royalties. The operation, linked to police cases in Nagpur, is estimated to have generated over ₹30 crore in illicit proceeds. The ED also froze ₹1.34 crore in bank balances and seized digital devices, documents, and property records under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The investigation remains ongoing.