ED raids premises of Punjab ex-Congress minister, aides

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided premises of former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and his close aides in a money laundering investigation, officials said.

The raids were carried out in around 20 locations. Many officers connected with the Food and Supplies Department have also been facing allegations of irregularities and allegations of receiving kickbacks in food procurement and transportation when Ashu was the minister in the previous Congress government.

The former minister and his associates have been facing a case registered on 16 August, 2022, by the state Vigilance Bureau in connection with an alleged multi-crore scam involving allotment of labour and cartage tenders to contractors.

A contractor named Telu Ram had, during interrogation by the Vigilance Bureau, named the former minister as being involved in the scam.