The Enforcement Directorate has seized over ₹10 crore in cash during the searches conducted at multiple locations in Punjab on Tuesday in connection with an illegal sand mining case.
The agency also searched the premises of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew, Bhupinder Singh Honey, triggering sharp reactions from the Congress.
According to the ED, the premises of Kudratdeep Singh, Pinjore Royalty Company, its partners and shareholders Kanwarmahip Singh and Manpreet Singh, Sunil Kumar Joshi, Jagveer Inder Singh, Randeep Singh, Providers Overseas Consultants and its other directors or shareholders, including Bhupinder Singh and Sandeep Kumar, were covered.
Apart from the documents related to sand mining business and property transactions, the agency seized mobile phones, more than ₹10 crore in cash, gold worth about ₹21 lakh and a Rolex watch worth ₹12 lakh, it said.
The ED probe is based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar police in Punjab on March 7, 2018, after joint teams comprising officials of the police, district administration and the Mining department detected instances of illegal sand mining. During the operation, the teams had seized several excavation machines and trucks loaded with sand.
‘Forged slips’
“The seized weighment slips purportedly having office stamps had actually not been issued by the office concerned and were forged. Subsequently, the mining operation at the Malikpur mining site was stopped and the approval of weighment slips was also cancelled by the team,” said an ED official.
As per the FIR, apart from Malikpur, illegal mining activities were carried out at Burjtahl Das, Barsal, Lalewal, Mandala and Khosa. Therefore, a probe was launched against the mine owners and their associates.