The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs 5.37 crore in an alleged Rs 30.18-crore diversion of funds under Madhya Pradesh’s Marriage Assistance Scheme, bringing 5,923 suspicious cases under scrutiny. The agency’s Bhopal zonal office issued the attachment order on October 30 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The case centres on alleged fraudulent disbursal of government assistance intended for the daughters of registered construction workers. Under the scheme, eligible beneficiaries receive Rs 51,000 for marriage-related support. The ED has named Shobhit Tripathi, who served as chief executive officer of Janpad Panchayat, Sironj, from 2019 to November 2021, along with others in its money laundering investigation.
According to the agency, Tripathi allegedly colluded with other individuals to approve and release Rs 30.18 crore through 5,923 suspicious cases. The alleged irregularities involved forged and fabricated application forms and the use of credentials belonging to ineligible beneficiaries.
The ED said bank accounts were opened using the credentials of these beneficiaries without their knowledge. These accounts were allegedly created specifically to receive government assistance. After the funds were credited, the money was allegedly withdrawn in several cash instalments, making it difficult to identify the eventual recipients, the agency said.
The investigation also identified cases in which assistance was allegedly paid to ineligible persons during the Covid-19 lockdown, when public marriages were prohibited. The properties provisionally attached by the agency are held in the names of Tripathi and his associate Hemant Sahu.
The matter originated with an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing in Bhopal against Tripathi and others. The case invoked provisions relating to cheating and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, as well as provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The EOW’s investigation into alleged irregularities in the processing and disbursal of scheme benefits led the ED to begin a separate money laundering probe to trace the alleged proceeds of crime.
The ED said searches conducted during the investigation had resulted in the recovery of documents and other materials connected with the alleged transactions. Tripathi was arrested on September 2, 2026, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and is currently in judicial custody. The agency said its investigation into the alleged money laundering network and the proceeds of crime was continuing.
