Chandigarh, Sep 24 (PTI) The Punjab and Haryana High Court has appointed a warrant officer to monitor the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) search operations in Punjab and submit a report by 2 pm on Thursday.
The high court took up the matter following a Punjab government plea for urgent judicial intervention late Wednesday night.
Following the submissions, the court appointed the warrant officer to monitor the ED’s ongoing survey and search operations.
The central agency on Tuesday conducted survey and search operations at the offices of Punjab’s Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA); IAS officer and Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Vikas Garg; and a Delhi-based realty company as part of a money laundering investigation.
The operation continued on Wednesday as well, with the ED sleuths conducting a search operation at a residence in Chandigarh where former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain often resides. Jain was not present when the ED reached the residence in Sector 39 here and its officials broke open the locks to gain entry, sources said.
The agency also searched the residence of the nephew of Punjab minister Hardeep Singh Mundian in Sahnewal in Ludhiana on Wednesday, they said.
The ED probe pertains to a real estate company named Tirupati Infraprojects, some linked entities and their directors and promoters who are accused of “acquiring” two prime auction sites at Mohali from the GMADA and subsequently obtaining “substantial” financial relief regarding the dues payable to the authority.
The central agency suspects that the “undue” gains obtained by the companies and the loss to the Punjab exchequer were more than Rs 100 crore.
The ED also raided a consultancy firm that is suspected to be acting as an intermediary in this case.
The realty company was investigated by the ED and the CBI in 2023 in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud case of Rs 290 crore.
According to the ED, they are also probing some other cases within the GMADA, including the auction and waiver of external development charges and interest charges due from builders and developers.
Following the ED’s operations, the ruling AAP accused the BJP of using central agencies to intimidate Punjabis and party leaders and claimed that the saffron party has “lost political ground” in the state.
The Centre is trying to disrupt the GMADA’s functioning and create hurdles for the Bhagwant Mann government’s welfare schemes. Central agencies cannot manufacture political support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in Punjab, the party said in a statement on Wednesday. PTI CHS VSD DIV
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