Four Congress MLAs are on Enforcement Directorate (ED) radar conducted raids at their residential and the business premises which include the names of Mahendragarh Congress MLA Rao Dan Singh said to be near and dear of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in connection to an alleged bank loan fraud case in Gurugram. ED team on 17th July conducted raids at his residence in Mahendergarh and Gurugram along with another five farm houses as well as offices. The team accompanied by his wife and daughter-in-law also checked the bank lockers. On July 18, searching Rao Dan Singh’s residence in connection with their investigation into an alleged bank-loan fraud-linked money-laundering case, the ED claimed to have seized Rs 1.42 crore in cash and documents related to more than 30 undisclosed flats and land.
At a time when political parties in Haryana have started political activities for the approaching Assembly elections just a couple of months away, the Enforcement Directorate has launched a massive crackdown on Congress leaders, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and legislators and people considered close to him. After losing all seats in the 2019 parliamentary elections, the Congress staged a comeback in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, winning five of the total 10 seats in Haryana state and saw its vote share jump to 43 per cent from 28 per cent in 2019. Congress leaders in the state blame ruling BJP misusing ED and CBI for the arrest of political leaders of parties in opposition. They alleged in the past few days, the ED has searched premises linked to three Congress MLAs: son of Dharam Singh Chhaukar, Rao Dan Singh of Mahendragarh and Surender Panwar of Sonipat in separate cases the federal agency is investigating.
Among other victim on the ED hit list include Dharam Singh Chhaukar MLA from Samalkha assembly seat in Panipat district when ED team arrested his son Sikandar Singh on 1st May this year in money laundering case who was alleged accepted amount worth Rs 360 crore from 1497 persons assured to allot houses through his firm Sai Aaina Farms Private Limited in Sector 68 in Gurugrambut failed to fulfill their promise when a raid was conducted at his residence and office in month July last year. The appeal for grant of his anticipatory bail was also rejected by Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Recently, ED team arrested Sonepat MLA Surinder Pawar who was arrested in a money laundering case for an amount worth Rs 25 crore. He was on the hit list of ED for a long time in a case of illegal mining in Yamunanagar area. Pawar had taken 52 lakh MT land on lease near village Pobari and Nakom in Yamunanagar but allegedly used 77 lakh MT area illegally in nine years during 2016 to 2022 causing huge revenue loss to the state government. Pawar was summoned in the court during March 2024 but he avoided his presence in the court, which sent him a final notice to appear for an interrogation in the court on Friday when ED team continued investigation till late night and arrested him during midnight when ED detected large number of embezzlements, alleged frauds in preparing e-bills to the suppliers for sale of sand extracted from nearly 23 hectare illegal mining in Yamunanagar. The money-laundering case stems from several FIRs registered by the Haryana Police for probing alleged illegal mining of boulders, gravel and sand that took place in the past in Yamunanagar and nearby districts despite a ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
On Friday, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties spanning 88.29 acres in Basharia village under Harsaru tehsil of Gurgaon district of value Rs 300.11 crore belonging to M3M India Infrastructure Private Ltd under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. About the attached properties, the central agency highlighted that ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the CBI under various sections of the IPC, 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Bhupinder Singh Hooda the then chief minister of Haryana, Trilok Chand Gupta then Director of RS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and 14 other coloniser companies. The agency then elaborated on the details of the FIR. Meanwhile, the M3M group said they were highly disappointed with the highly unwarranted, unjustified and uncalled action by the ED since the land in question was in no way connected with any offence and was not proceeds of crime. Accusing ruling BJP government in the state of taking ED action a political issue, Refusing allegations Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini said an independent Bhukkal.
Meanwhile, Deepender Hooda MP holding a foot march across Haryana under the Pradesh Congress Committee’s ‘Haryana Maange Hisab’ campaign, said while talking to media persons, the BJP has got scared of the questions the Congress is asking during our ongoing campaign. “Rather than replying to the 15 questions about the BJP’s misgovernance we have asked them, it is misusing investigative agencies against opposition leaders. Central investigative agencies, the ED and the CBI, should stop working like cells of the BJP,” Deepender said the anti-constitution and anti-democratic face of the BJP stands completely exposed and the voters are well aware of it. Congress leaders said the brave people of Haryana will give them a befitting reply with their votes in the coming Vidhan Sabha elections.
