The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday carried out searches at multiple locations linked to Punjab minister and MLA Sanjeev Arora, his associates and business partners, as part of an ongoing probe into alleged financial irregularities and money laundering.
According to officials, raids were conducted at 13 premises across Gurugram, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The searches covered the residences and offices of Arora, his son Kavya Arora, as well as business associates Hemanth Sood and Chandrasekhar Aggarwal.
Arora is the promoter of Hampton Sky Realty Ltd, formerly known as Ritesh Properties and Industries Ltd, which is involved in large scale real estate and infrastructure projects in Punjab. His son currently serves as the managing director of the company.
The ED is examining allegations against the firm, including illegal changes in land use, inflated and fraudulent sales bookings to manipulate share prices, suspected insider trading, and round tripping of funds from the UAE. Investigators are also probing claims that unaccounted money, including proceeds linked to illegal betting operations, was routed back into India and invested in real estate.
Hemanth Sood, who runs Findoc Finvest Private Limited, is under scrutiny for allegedly assisting in routing funds and facilitating financial transactions linked to suspected insider trading and laundering activities. Chandrasekhar Aggarwal, a businessman based in Jalandhar, is also being investigated for alleged links to betting operations and hawala transactions.
Officials suspect that proceeds generated through illegal betting and other activities were laundered and channelled into legitimate investments using a network of companies and financial intermediaries.
The agency is currently examining documents and bank records seized during the searches. No arrests have been reported so far, and further investigation is underway.
Bhagwant Mann targets Centre over ED action
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that India follows a federal system where every state is entitled to its due share. However, he alleged that non BJP ruled states have been facing increasing pressure in recent times, with their funds being withheld and governments being specifically targeted.
He said the Aam Aadmi Party has grown rapidly in just 10 years, which he claimed has unsettled the Bharatiya Janata Party. Mann alleged that the BJP believes it can manage the Congress but sees AAP as a bigger challenge.
Referring to developments in Delhi, Mann claimed that several AAP leaders were targeted through central agencies, with Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain being jailed. He alleged that even party workers working behind the scenes were intimidated and pressured to join the BJP.
Calling it a politics of intimidation, Mann said such tactics were being used to weaken opposition parties. He also cited West Bengal, alleging that senior officials, including the DGP, were replaced, and claimed that elections cannot be won through fear and coercion but through democratic means.
