THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Chandigarh, March 27: Official sources reported that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at several places in Punjab on Wednesday regarding a money laundering investigation related to a purported scam involving compensation for guava orchards.
According to sources, the residences of several senior government officials and private individuals including the main accused Bhupinder Singh are being searched.
Between 2016-17, individuals associated with the government and GMADA officers purportedly had advance information about impending land acquisitions. Allegedly, they strategically acquired land and planted numerous guava trees to inflate the compensation sum.
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It is claimed that they falsified records, asserting that the trees were planted in 2016 when, in fact, they were planted in 2018. This allegedly enabled them to illicitly obtain crores in compensation.
The ED initiated proceedings following the Punjab Vigilance Bureau’s FIR regarding the alleged misuse of approximately Rs 137 crore designated as compensation for guava orchards on land acquired by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
It has been reported that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau has arrested 33 individuals, including officials from the horticulture department, in relation to this case.
