ED raids ex-Punjab minister, son and associates in disproportionate assets case

The searches come ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and are linked to a corruption and disproportionate assets case involving Arora, along with alleged irregularities in Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) plot allotments and subsequent changes in ownership.Punjab ex-Industries minister Sunder Sham Arora (Sunder Sham Arora/X handle)The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab and Chandigarh targeting former Punjab Industries Minister and Congress leader Sunder Sham Arora, his son Prateek Arora, the Marbella Group, Gulmohar Township Group, their promoters and Sanjeev Juneja.The searches come ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and are linked to a corruption and disproportionate assets case involving Arora, along with alleged irregularities in Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) plot allotments and subsequent changes in ownership.Earlier, leaders linked to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab had also faced action by central agencies. In May, the ED arrested Punjab minister and AAP leader Sanjeev Arora after conducting searches at his residence and premises linked to him in a money laundering case.The agency's probe involved alleged fake GST purchases of mobile phones worth over Rs 100 crore and claims of fraudulent input tax credit. The arrest had triggered a political confrontation between the AAP government and the BJP-led Centre. In September, the ED conducted searches at the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) office in Mohali as part of a probe into allegations of money laundering, change of land use and waiver of dues.The searches also covered a government house in Chandigarh's Sector 39 and the residence of a relative of Punjab Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian. AAP workers protested outside the GMADA premises, alleging that the central agency was being used against the state government ahead of the elections. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), too, conducted searches at eight locations across Punjab and Chandigarh on October 6 in connection with alleged corruption involving Rajbir Ghuman, an Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.The action followed a Punjab and Haryana High Court order directing a CBI probe into allegations flagged by the ED.The CBI searches triggered a political row after the agency also searched Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's camp office. Mann accused the BJP-led Centre of using central agencies to target his government ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The BJP rejected the allegation, maintaining that the CBI action followed directions from the High Court.- Ends