THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, July 20: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Congress MLA Surender Panwar in an illegal mining case. His arrest took place late at night in Gurugram.
The agency has taken the Congress MLA to Ambala with them where he will be presented before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court and the ED will request a custodial remand.
Surender Panwar is an MLA from Sonipat. He contested the assembly elections from Sonipat on a Congress ticket in 2019 and emerged victorious by defeating BJP candidate Kavita Jain.
ED had arrested INLD MLA Dilbag Singh in January
Notably, on January 4, the ED raided the premises of Congress MLA Surender Panwar and his associates. During this raid, ED officials searched the documents at Panwar’s residence and office.
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The ED seized illegal foreign weapons, 300 cartridges, over 100 bottles of liquor, and five crores in cash from the house and office of former INLD MLA Dilbag Singh and his associates. Following this, police arrested former INLD MLA Dilbag Singh and one of his associates, Kulwinder Singh, from Yamunanagar.
The ED conducted raids in the Yamunanagar, Sonipat, and Karnal regions of Haryana concerning illegal mining. It is known that Surender Panwar and Dilbagh Singh have been partners in mining for a long time.
ED also probing fraud in ‘E-Ravana’ scheme
Despite the ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), illegal mining of stone, gravel, and sand continued in Yamunanagar and its surrounding districts. This money laundering case is related to that issue.
Several FIRs were registered by Haryana police concerning the illegal mining.
The central agency is also investigating alleged fraud in the ‘E-Ravana’ scheme, an online portal launched by the Haryana government in 2020 to streamline royalty and tax collection and prevent tax evasion in mining areas.
In July 2022, Panwar submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, citing personal reasons and concerns for his family’s safety. Later, the Sonipat MLA decided to withdraw his resignation after Speaker Gian Chand Gupta assured him of adequate security arrangements.
