ED arrests former MP Janpad Panchayat CEO in ₹30.18 crore marriage assistance fund fraud case

September 4, 2026

Bhopal: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Shobhit Tripathi, the then CEO of Janpad Panchayat, Sironj, Madhya Pradesh, in connection with a money laundering investigation into the alleged fraudulent disbursement of government funds under the Marriage Assistance Scheme.

Tripathi was arrested on September 2 under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED said in a statement.

He was produced before the Special Court (PMLA), Bhopal, on September 3. The court granted ED custody of Tripathi till September 9 for further investigation.

The ED probe was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Bhopal, against Tripathi and others.

According to the ED, the Madhya Pradesh government’s Marriage Assistance Scheme provides financial assistance of Rs 51,000 to eligible daughters of registered construction workers.

During his tenure as CEO of Janpad Panchayat, Sironj, from 2019 to November 2021, Tripathi allegedly colluded with others and approved and disbursed government funds amounting to Rs 30.18 crore in suspicious marriage assistance cases.

The agency said the investigation found that forged and fabricated application forms and beneficiary documents were allegedly used to fraudulently obtain benefits under the scheme.

Further investigation is underway.