ED seizes Rs 30.50 million in Punjab illegal mining case

30 May 2024 CW Team

The Enforcement Directorate seized approximately Rs 30.50 million in cash on during searches conducted at 13 locations in Punjab's Rupnagar district. These actions were part of a money-laundering investigation into alleged illegal mining on land that the agency had attached in 2015 in relation to a drug trafficking case.

The agency stated that Nasib Chand and his associates were involved in illegal mining on land attached on March 30, 2015, in a case related to former Arjuna awardee wrestler Jagdish Singh Bhola, who had also served as a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Punjab.

The Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had confirmed the attachment of these assets on September 3, 2015.

In response to allegations of illegal mining, the agency focused on the suspects by analysing their call records. It was revealed that bank account statements of Baljinder Singh and others linked to him were obtained from the relevant banks and scrutinised to identify suspected individuals. Following this analysis, the search operation was carried out, according to a source.

During 2013-14, the Punjab police had registered multiple criminal cases against Bhola and his associates for allegedly operating a drug trafficking syndicate with connections in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Bhola was arrested by the Punjab police in November 2013, and the Enforcement Directorate took him into custody for questioning in January 2014.

Bhola was dismissed from service after his involvement in drug trafficking was uncovered, and the government revoked the Arjuna Award granted to him in 1997. He had previously been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai in 2008. A special court for Central Bureau of Investigation cases convicted Bhola and 21 others in one case in February 2019.

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