JAMMU: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jammu Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached immovable properties worth approximately ₹10.66 crore in connection with the Patnitop Hotels Land Encroachment case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The attached properties include the land and buildings of Hotel Holiday Inn, Hotel Broadway, Hotel Hollywood and Hotel Mountview, all located in Patnitop in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district.
The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBI-ACB), Jammu, against owners and directors of hotels, guest houses, resorts, cottages and residential establishments in the Patnitop area, along with officials of the Patnitop Development Authority (PDA).
According to the FIR, the establishments allegedly engaged in commercial activities in residential buildings, carried out construction beyond approved limits and operated in prohibited areas, including dense forests, agricultural land and residential zones. The complaint also alleged that PDA officials overlooked violations of prescribed regulations.
The CBI filed six charge sheets in 2023 against eight hotel owners associated with six hotels and several PDA officials. The cases invoked provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, the Ranbir Penal Code, the Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1978, and the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Act, 1987, the ED said.
During its investigation, the ED found that Hotel Holiday Inn had undertaken unauthorised construction measuring 7,552.74 square feet beyond its sanctioned building plan, despite having building permission. The investigation also revealed that Hotel Broadway, Hotel Hollywood and Hotel Mountview were allegedly operating commercially without the requisite permissions to function as hotels.
The ED said the hotel buildings, unauthorised constructions, adjoining land and other identified properties equivalent in value to the proceeds generated through the alleged unauthorised commercial exploitation had been provisionally attached as proceeds of crime.
Earlier, the agency had issued two provisional attachment orders in 2025, attaching properties worth ₹30.72 crore in the same case. With the latest action, the total value of provisionally attached properties has reached approximately ₹41.38 crore.
Further investigation in the case is underway.
