ED raids Punjab MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s premises in Chandigarh, Punjab and Delhi

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided the premises of Punjab MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and some of his close associates in connection with alleged cases of money-laundering, narcotics trafficking and an alleged fake passport.

The sleuths of ED led by a woman officer reached Khaira’s residence in Sector 5, Chandigarh and searched the premises. Searches were also carried out at his parental hose in Kapurthala district in Punjab and some other locations in Haryana as well as in Delhi in this connection.

The ED team from Delhi sealed Khaira’s residence during the operation, and nobody was allowed to enter or exit the house. Khaira’s mobile phones were confiscated and some documents were taken into possession by the ED sleuths during the raid.

The agency is looking into the property papers as well as banking transactions of Khaira. The officials said the searches are going on after the agency registered a money laundering case. Officials in the Punjab Police disclosed that action was being carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is aimed at gathering more evidence to take the probe forward.

The PMLA probe is related to alleged drug trafficking and a fake passport case, they said, adding that a few accused in the case are lodged in jail. Khaira is a legislator and founder of Punjab Ekta Party. He was elected to the state Assembly in 2017 on a ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Besides, Khaira has been vociferously taking up the issue of the suspicious death of farmer Navreet Singh, who died on January 26 during the farmers' protest.

Khaira termed the ED raid as an attempt by the ruling BJP-led NDA government to suppress his voice. He claimed that he had done nothing wrong except raising his voice against injustice.

Former Punjab Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa raised the issue in the Assembly and criticised the ED raids at Khaira’s premises. A Minister in the Congress government, Charanjit Singh Channi, seconded Dhindsa in the House.