Enforcement Directorate summons PSPCL CMD Basant Garg and others in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate has called senior Punjab officials and two private persons for questioning in a money laundering probe linked to arrested minister Sanjeev Arora, officials said on Saturday. IAS officer Basant Garg and PSPCL Director Commercial Harsharan Kaur Trehan were among those summoned. The case is tied to an alleged Rs 100 crore GST fraud involving mobile phone sales.

Representative image

Officials said the summonses also went to Ludhiana-based Hemant Sood and Jalandhar businessman Chandra Shekhar Aggarwal. Sood runs Findoc Finvest Private Ltd., described as a financial investment and stockbroker firm. The four have been asked to appear in Delhi from Monday, May 18. The notices were issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Enforcement Directorate summons in Sanjeev Arora money laundering case

Basant Garg, a 2005 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, is the CMD of Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. Officials said ED questioning of PSPCL officers relates to a bank guarantee of about Rs 2 crore. The guarantee was allegedly returned by the utility to a company said to be linked to Sanjeev Arora.

Officials also said more bureaucrats are under the agency’s scanner in this matter. The list includes some IAS and IPS officers, according to officials. The inquiry is being handled by the central agency in Delhi. The investigation is examining wider links beyond the four people summoned.

Sanjeev Arora arrest and Enforcement Directorate remand in money laundering case

Sanjeev Arora, 62, was arrested by the ED on May 9 from an official residence in Chandigarh. Officials said the arrest followed raids connected to the alleged Rs 100 crore GST fraud case. Arora held the Power, Industry and Commerce portfolios. After the arrest, the Bhagwant Mann-led government assigned the portfolios to other ministers.

On Saturday, a court in Gurugram extended Arora’s ED custody by two days, officials said. Arora was produced after a seven-day remand ended. The agency had asked for five more days of custody. Officials said the ED cited shell companies, benami property purchases, and the need to question several people.

During the first court appearance, Aroras lawyer had said that the ED case against his client was false and frivolous and no prima facie evidence was collected by the investigating officer before arresting him.

High Court challenge and linked searches in Sanjeev Arora Enforcement Directorate case

Officials said the District and Sessions Judge granted only a two-day extension. Separately, the AAP politician has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The petition challenges the ED arrest, officials said. The court proceedings continued alongside the agency’s ongoing questioning plans.

Officials said Sood and Agarwal were also searched by the ED earlier. The searches were part of a foreign exchange violation case, officials said. The matter involved Sood, Aggarwal, and the minister. The ED summonses now place the four before investigators in Delhi from May 18.

With inputs from PTI