ED, IT teams raid Samalkha Congress MLA Chhokar’s properties in Haryana

The raids are being carried out at Dharam Singh Chhokar’s house in Samalkha, fuel station in Panipat and properties in Hisar, Gurugram and Chandigarh

Joint teams of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and income tax department (IT) on Wednesday raided the house of Samalkha Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhokar’s properties in Panipat, Hisar, Gurugram and Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Samalkha Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhokar faces allegations of tax evasion and owning assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. (Ht file photo)

Three teams are conducting the raids in connection with disproportionate assets than known sources of income. There are also reports of tax evasion by the Congress legislator.

According to official sources, the raids are being carried out at Chhokar’s house in Samalkha, fuel station in Panipat and other properties in Hisar, Gurugram and Chandigarh.

Two-time MLA and Hooda loyalist

Dharam Singh Chhokar is a loyalist of former chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, but he won his first election on the Haryana Janhit Congress (Bhajan Lal) ticket in 2009, defeating Congress’s Sanjay Chhokar. Later, he along with other HJCBL MLAs extended support to the then Hooda-led Congress government.

In 2014, Ravinder Machhroli, who contested independently, defeated Chhokar. But in 2019, Chhokar again won on the Congress ticket from Samalkha.