An ED officer said the searches focused on securing financial records, digital data and other evidence related to the suspected diversion of investor funds
Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at five place, sources said. File Pic
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at five places in Maharashtra's Pune and Baramati as part of its money-laundering investigation into an alleged Rs 10-crore cheating case linked to investment schemes in the dairy sector, officials said.
Officials said the action was taken after complaints that several businessmen had been tricked with promises of unusually high returns.
According to ED sources, officers searched two locations in Pune and three in Baramati. The searches targeted properties linked to Vidyanand Dhairi and Anand Lokhande, residents of Jalochi in Baramati taluka, who are under investigation for their suspected involvement in the fraudulent investment scheme.
The probe began after allegations that a couple had collected money from several businessmen in Mumbai and Pune by promoting a dairy-investment plan that supposedly offered attractive profits.
ED sources said some senior government officials had also invested in the scheme and were allegedly cheated, which led to a deeper financial inquiry.
Baramati Dairy Private Limited had earlier filed a complaint accusing Lokhande and others of cheating the company of Rs 10.21 crore.
The ED is now examining the flow of money, bank transactions and property documents to determine how the funds were moved and whether more people or organisations were involved.
An ED officer said the searches focused on securing financial records, digital data and other evidence related to the suspected diversion of investor funds. The agency is expected to issue further summons after analysing the seized material.
The investigation is still in progress.
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