Days forward of the Punjab Assembly elections, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday performed searches at 10 locations in Ludhiana, Mohali and Pathankot districts in reference to an unlawful sand mining case. The locations searched embody the Mohali residence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew.
The ED registered an FIR in 2018 in opposition to Kudrat Deep Singh, the primary accused within the unlawful sand mining case, who owns a mine at Nawanshahr in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
It is discovered that Kudrat Deep Singh had shaped two corporations. The administrators of the businesses have been Channi’s nephews Bhupinder Singh and Sandeep Singh.
Tuesday’s searches have been a part of a cash laundering probe in opposition to the administrators of the businesses.
The case of unlawful sand mining was initially registered by the Punjab Police below sections 21(1) and 4(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development Regulation) Act, 1957 on the grievance of a mining officer at Rahon police station, Nawanshahr. and below sections 379, 420, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.
There have been 26 accused on this case, largely truck drivers.
According to the FIR, the police had intercepted 30 tipper vehicles loaded with sand, most of which have been taken from an space not marked for mining. Several varieties of equipment have been additionally recovered which weren’t for use for mining on the website.
After the police FIR, the ED began investigating the matter.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
