Chandigarh, Oct 9 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora’s reality firm in Ludhiana has sold the allotted industrial land wrongfully by breaching conditions of allotment of the Punjab government.
The ED investigation revealed that Hampton Sky Reality, erstwhile Ritesh Properties Industries Ltd (RPIL), alienated the land use without permission of the state government and later on developed a residential project and business park on the land by concealing material facts at the time when it was seeking permission from the government for the project, an official statement said.
“By all these wrongful activities, M/s RPIL and M/s RIL caused loss to the government and generated huge proceeds of crime, further investigation is under progress,” the ED said.
The central agency on Monday conducted searches at the residence of Arora in Ludhiana in a money laundering probe case. He is accused of fraudulently acquiring land worth crores in the name of his company.
The ED carried out search operations at 17 business and residential premises related to RPIL and its directors and partners -- Sanjeev Arora, Hemant Sood and Chander Shekhar Aggarwal -- and that of Royal Industries Ltd (RIL), its directors Gurmeet Singh and Pardeep Kumar Aggarwal in districts of Ludhiana and Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Delhi and Gurugram.
During the search operations, various incriminating documents, mobile phones and digital devices were found and seized. The ED said it initiated investigations on the basis of a criminal complaint registered in a court in Ludhiana against RPIL and a first information report (FIR) registered by Ludhiana Police against RIL.
Sources said an industrial plot was allotted to Arora during the Congress regime. He allegedly established a residential colony on the land and sell plots for financial gains.
In a tweet on the day of the raid, Arora had said, “I am a law-abiding citizen, am not sure about the reason for the search operation, will cooperate fully with agencies and make sure all their queries are answered.”