The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched raids on Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) leader and businessman Gopal Kanda in connection with a real-estate fraud, people familiar with the development said.
The agency’s Gurugram office is investigating “a large-scale real estate fraud by Vatika Limited in which investors were induced to invest in commercial projects on assurances of timely possession, assured returns, lease rentals and execution of sale deeds,” according to an officer.
“The four projects under investigation involved collection of approximately ₹248.46 crore from 661 investors, without handing over possession or executing the promised sale deeds till date,” he added.
The home, farmhouse and office of Kanda were raided as part of tracking the money trail in the case, as it is suspected that “diverted” funds from the real estate firm were transferred to various companies linked to the former minister, the officials said.
Advocate Arun Khatri, who represents Kanda, said “we are trying to ascertain the details of the ED case for now”. A former legislator from Sirsa seat, the 60-year-old was defeated in 2024 assembly elections by Congress’s Gokul Setia.
He was raided by the ED in August 2023 too as part of a separate money laundering investigation. The businessman-politician is a former MLA of the HLP from Sirsa, who had served as the minister for home, industries and urban local bodies in the state.
{{/usCountry}}He was raided by the ED in August 2023 too as part of a separate money laundering investigation. The businessman-politician is a former MLA of the HLP from Sirsa, who had served as the minister for home, industries and urban local bodies in the state.
{{/usCountry}}He is also the president of the party that was floated by him. In 2023, Kanda was acquitted by a Delhi court in the high-profile suicide case involving Geetika Sharma, a former air hostess of MDLR Airlines founded and run by him.