Haryana mining row: ED recovers foreign-made weapons, Rs 5 cr cash from INLD MLA and his associates

Chandigarh: Foreign-made weapons, about 300 cartridges, Rs 5 crore cash and more than 100 liquor bottles have been recovered during searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate against former Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA Dilbag Singh and his associates, official sources said on Friday.

The central agency had launched raids against the former legislator and Congress MLA from Sonipat Surender Panwar on Thursday as part of a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in Haryana's Yamunanagar district.

About Rs 5 crore cash, alleged 'illegal' foreign-made weapons, around 300 cartridges, more than 100 liquor bottles, 4-5 kg of gold and documents pertaining to assets in India and abroad have been recovered from the premises linked to Singh and his associates, the sources said.

The searches at some locations are underway, they said.

Around 20 locations of the two politicians and linked entities in Yamunanagar, Sonipat, Mohali, Faridabad, Chandigarh and Karnal were covered during the raids conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Singh is a former Indian National Lok Dal MLA from Yamunanagar.

The money laundering case stems from several FIRs registered by Haryana Police to probe alleged illegal mining of boulders, gravel and sand that took place in the past in Yamunanagar and nearby districts even after the lease expiry period and court's order.

The central agency is also probing alleged fraud in the 'e-Ravana' scheme, an online portal that was introduced by the Haryana government in 2020 to simplify collection of royalties and taxes and to prevent tax evasion in mining areas.