Gautam Budh Nagar: Administration begins process of attaching properties of ‘criminals’

The departments and officials notified include the CEOs of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Authorities, the Chief Development Officer, officials from the income tax department, sales tax department, housing and development board, regional transport department and the state-industrial development commission, among others. He added that banks in the districts too have been notified to freeze all transfers of those booked under the act and all sub-registrars to block all their property transactions. The public too will be roped in to ascertain properties of people booked under the act, he added.

According to SSP Ajay Pal Sharma, those booked under the Gangster Act since May 2017 include those accused of a variety of criminal activities like illegal building activity, liqour smuggling, gambling and mining, and the administration is looking to attach property acquired through these means. Among these include the six persons who were booked in relation to the collapse of two buildings in Shahberi in July, which killed nine people.

Those booked will have three months to make a representation to the DM showing the manner in which the property was acquired by them. The administration will be applying Section 14 of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, to 150 alleged gang-leaders and 416 alleged gang-members who have been booked under the act over the last 17 months. Under Section 14, if the DM suspects that property in possession of a person booked under the act has been acquired through an offence triable under it, he may order its attachment.