The Enforcement Directorate has seized Rs 10 crore cash and gold worth Rs 21 lakhs during raids in connection with money laundering investigation, against illegal sand mining operations in the poll-bound state, that concluded on Wednesday morning. The raids were conducted at multiple locations in Punjab, including the premises of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew, six mining contractors, among others.
The central agency seized a total of Rs 10 crore from Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey and his partner Sandeep Kumar, besides recovering gold worth Rs 21 lakh during the searches that started on Tuesday. During the raids, the federal probe agency has also seized a number of documents and electronic devices.
Of the total Rs 10 crore cash seized during the operation, Rs eight crore have been recovered from the premises linked to Channi’s nephew Honey. The remaining Rs two crore had been seized from the premises linked to his partner Sandeep Kumar.
A day before, the ED had recovered nearly Rs six crore from Bhupinder and Sandeep from their premises in Ludhiana, and the amount touched Rs 10 crore on Wednesday.
The financial investigation agency raided 10 locations in poll-bound border state, including those linked to the CM’s nephew, in connection with probes into illegal sand mining in the State on Tuesday.
The ED officials, accompanied by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, conducted searches at locations in Chandigarh, Rupnagar, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Mohali. An apartment belonging to Honey was raided in Mohali. The ED is probing the source of unaccounted cash recovered from Honey and Sandeep, and is expected to soon summon the persons covered during the searches for fresh and detailed questioning.
The agency’s probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is based on a 2018 case registered by Punjab Police for illegal sand mining in the border state. The central agency had lodged an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report), an FIR, at its zonal office in Jalandhar in November last year after taking over the probe.
ED officials said that Kudrat Deep Singh, one of the main accused, had set up a firm, Provider Consultancy Services Private Limited. The three directors of the firm are Kudrat Deep, Sandeep, and Bhupinder. The ED has been probing money-laundering charges against them as it suspects the proceeds of crime from the illegal sand mining has been further transferred.
Following the probe against Kudrat Deep, the ED investigated the role of six contractors for illegal sand mining. Besides, it searched the premises of miner Sunil Joshi in Pathankot, Jagbir Inder Singh in Rupnagar, and Randeep Singh in Fatehgarh Sahib, while the properties of Sandeep and Bhupinder were searched in Ludhiana, too.
According to the FIR, there are 26 accused, including Kudrat Deep. Most of them are truck drivers. The case was registered on the complaint of the Punjab Mining Department that found sand quarries being run without approval during its raids in 2018.
The Mining Department impounded 30 vehicles and other machinery being used for the illegal mining. The FIR said that the mining was done outside the designated area and the operators used forged slips that were not issued by the mining department. Police cracked down on six companies in connection with the illegal sand mining case.
In 2019, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar police had also filed challan in the case against accused Baldev Singh and others. An SBS Nagar court has fixed February 23 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
In 2018, the case was registered under Sections 21(1) and 4(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, and Sections 420 (punishment for cheating), 471 (whoever fraudulently or dishonestly uses as genuine), and 465 (punishment for forgery) at Rahon.
