Punjab illegal sand mining case: ED likely to summon two more contractors

Jalandhar, February 5

As the interrogation of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Honey by the Enforcement Directorate continued for the third day today in the alleged money laundering case related to illegal sand mining, there are reports that a few more persons linked to the business could be summoned in the coming days.

Two sand mining contractors — one from Jammu and another from Chandigarh — could be summoned by the agency. The one from Chandigarh has reportedly been in the trade for many years and had been doing brisk business even during the Akali regime. The Jammu-based contractor, whom the ED officials intend to probe, was reportedly booked by the Punjab Police in a case of illegal sand mining last week and hence is on the radar.

The ED officials said their probe was based around the source of Rs 8 crore recovered from Honey’s residence. They said all those named by him in his business connections could be summoned to take the probe forward.

The officials said some information on the nexus was also pouring in through political leaders, who had been giving leads and vital information about the illegal sand mining racket ever since the raids took place on January 18.