The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at various locations in Punjab in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged guava orchards compensation scam, news agency PTI reported citing official sources.
The residence of the Deputy Commissioner of Firozpur Rajesh Dhiman was also searched by the ED, among the 26 other locations across seven districts of Punjab under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The searches were made after the ED took cognizance of an FIR filed by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in connection with an alleged embezzlement of nearly Rs 137 crore. The amount was released as compensation for the guava orchards on the land acquired by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
"The premises of some senior government officials and some private persons are being covered," PTI quoted the official sources saying.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau had arrested several people, including some horticulture department officials, in connection with this case, PTI reported.
What is the Guava Orchards Compensation Scam?
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau exposed the Rs 137 crore 'Guava Orchard Compensation' scam in May last year. The scam involved collusion between officials from Revenue departments, Horticulture, GMADA, and other private individuals, who obtained compensation worth crores of rupees by illegally posing as owners of guava orchards, Indian Express reported.
The roots of the scam can be traced to a village named Bakarpur near Mohali in Punjab. During 2016-18, the officers close to the government, who were aware of the upcoming land acquisitions, began strategically purchasing the land and planting guava trees in high density, resulting in an inflated compensation.
As per the report, they allegedly also manipulated the records and claimed that the guava trees were planted in 2016 when they were actually planted in 2018. This allowed them to extract crores in illegal compensation.
The masterminds behind the scam that were identified in VB's investigation included Bhupinder Singh, Vishal Bhandari, Vikas Bhandari, and Mukesh Jindal.
The accused established personal connections with the GMADA officers and orchestrated a scheme to gain profit from the land acquisition.They leased the land and showcased it as guava orchards, planting 2000-2500 trees per acre, against the recommendation of 132 trees per acre made by Punjab Agricultural University, the report stated.
Bhupinder Singh, a property dealer from Bakarpur, is said to be the kingpin in the scam case as he allegedly received hefty compensation by planting the guava trees on the GMADA-acquired agricultural land, meant for development purposes.
The inquiry also revealed that Horticulture Development Officers Jaspreet Singh Sidhu and Vaishali, falsely documented the existence of orchards in areas where 'khasra girdawaris' indicated otherwise.
An investigation by the VB further revealed that the revenue officials were responsible for manipulating jamabandis and khasra girdawaries, falsely showing the crop sown and land ownership.
A case under Sections 409, 420, 465, 466, 468, 471, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(1) (a), 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at the Vigilance Bureau Police Station on May 2, 2023. So far the VB has arrested 33 accused in connection with the scam, the Tribune reported.
A few of them were given anticipatory bail by the High Court in lieu of their offer to deposit the entire amount of compensation they had received. When other accused also began availing the parity, the Vigilance Bureau approached the Supreme Court, challenging bail orders of the High Court, the report stated.
The High Court ordered the accused beneficiaries to deposit an amount of Rs 72.36 crore, out of which Rs 43.72 crore has been deposited till January 30.