Year after Madhya Pradesh businessman’s suicide, ED claims he availed Rs 6-crore ‘fraudulent loans’
Manoj Parmar and his wife, Neha, were found dead at their house in December 2024. Their family alleged that they took their lives because of pressure due to the ED probe.
The ED officials alleged that standard loan sanction protocols were ignored, including bypassing second-level approvals and exceeding the branch manager's authorised financial limits.
More than a year after the suicide of Madhya Pradesh businessman Manoj Parmar and his wife Neha, over alleged harassment by enforcement agencies, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint in the money laundering probe, alleging Parmar availed fraudulent loans of over Rs 6 crore under two government schemes.
The ED’s Bhopal Zonal Office filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) on January 28, 2026, against Mark Pius Karari, the former Branch Manager of Punjab National Bank in Ashta, Sehore district, and four others. The complaint was lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, before the Special Court (PMLA).
The court has since issued notices to the accused. According to the ED’s investigation, Manoj Parmar, who was at the centre of the scandal, allegedly orchestrated a sophisticated fraud scheme with the aid of bank officials. The probe revealed that Parmar allegedly fraudulently secured 18 loans of Rs 6.2 crore in 2016 under two government initiatives: the Pradhan Mantri Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) and the Chief Minister Yuva Udyami Yojana (CMYUY). Of this amount, Rs 6.01 crore was disbursed using “fabricated applicants, forged documents, and fabricated quotations.”
ED officials alleged that standard loan sanction protocols were ignored, including bypassing second-level approvals and exceeding the branch manager’s authorised financial limits.
“Field inspections by bank officials later confirmed that no business units were ever set up, and many supposed borrowers denied applying for or receiving any loans, showing that the schemes meant for self-employment were grossly misused,” an ED official said.
The agency alleged the “fraudulently availed loan funds were diverted into accounts of firms controlled by Manoj Parmar and his close associates”.
“From these accounts, the funds were moved between multiple linked entities to hide their source, withdrawn in cash, and partly used for buying properties in the names of Manoj Parmar and Others,” the official said.
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Firms controlled by Parmar and others were allegedly used as layers to circulate the money and project false business activity.
“This systematic routing, layering and cash withdrawal of government-subsidized loan funds clearly shows deliberate diversion of public money, forming Proceeds of Crime,” the agency submitted.
In a prior move, the ED had provisionally attached 12 immovable properties valued at approximately Rs 2.08 crore in Ashta and Sehore, all linked to Parmar and his network. The case stems from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Bhopal, charging Parmar, Karari, and others under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The CBI later submitted a chargesheet, prompting the ED to launch its parallel money laundering inquiry. The latest developments come against the backdrop of Parmar’s tragic end.
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On December 13, 2024, Parmar and Neha were found dead at their Sehore residence in an apparent suicide. The couple had returned from a temple visit in Susner the previous night with their three children. Their eldest son, Jatin, discovered their bodies hanging in their room the next morning and alerted authorities.
Police recovered a five-page suicide note from Parmar, though its contents have not been publicly disclosed. Family members had claimed that the couple took their lives allegedly due to intense pressure from the ongoing ED investigation.
Just days earlier, on December 5, 2024, ED teams had raided four premises in Sehore and Indore connected to Parmar.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
