Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge termed the arrest of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey as "political" and said it is being done "to create pressure".
"It is a political arrest and it is being done to create pressure. If action had to be taken against someone, it should have been done over four-five months, not in one single day. It is being done purposely. Channi is a Scheduled Caste CM, they want to hassle and demoralise him," Kharge told ANI.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on late Thursday evening arrested Bhupinder Singh Honey in an illegal sand mining case from Jalandhar after day-long questioning, said sources.
Honey was being questioned at ED's office at Jalandhar. ED arrested Honey under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is likely to be produced later in the day before a Special Court at Mohali.
ED's action came around 20 days after it seized more than Rs 10 crore, gold worth above 21 lakh and a Rolex watch worth Rs 12 lakh from the residential premises of Bhupinder Singh Honey, and others in connection with an alleged illegal sand mining case.
The ED had declared the recoveries after it concluded its two-day raid conducted at the business and residential premises of the accused persons and their associates in over a dozen places in Mohali, Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Pathankot.
The federal agency had also raided the premises of the accused persons and their associates including Kudratdeep Singh, the owner of Pinjore Royalty Company, and his partners and shareholders Kanwarmahip Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sunil Kumar Joshi, Jagveer Inder Singh on January 18 and 19.
( With inputs from ANI )
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