The Enforcement Directorate has summoned officials of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) to submit all records regarding a prime 40-acre land tract allotted to companies linked to jailed former Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora.
In the summons issued on Friday, the central agency demanded comprehensive land records, utilisation files, and copies of all permissions granted to Ritesh Properties Industries Limited (RPIL)—now operating as Hampton Sky Realty.
Arora, a 62-year-old industrialist-turned-politician who held the industries, commerce, and local bodies portfolios in the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, is already in judicial custody following his arrest by the ED on May 9 in a separate money-laundering investigation involving an alleged ₹100-crore GST fraud tied to mobile phone sales.
The land allotment probe follows an October 7, 2024, ED raid on 17 properties linked to Arora, RPIL, Royal Industries Limited, and their directors. Those searches targeted the luxury residential project, Hampton Homes and the Hampton Court Business Park on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road.
The ED’s money-laundering inquiry originates from a criminal complaint filed in a Ludhiana court against RPIL and a corresponding FIR against Royal Industries Limited.
{{/usCountry}}The ED’s money-laundering inquiry originates from a criminal complaint filed in a Ludhiana court against RPIL and a corresponding FIR against Royal Industries Limited.
{{/usCountry}}Preliminary findings by the ED indicate that the companies caused a substantial loss to the state exchequer and generated considerable proceeds of crime by repurposing 40 acres of industrial land for commercial residential development.
The Punjab government had originally allotted the land to RPIL and Royal Industries Limited under strict conditions meant exclusively to promote local industries. Instead, investigators found that Royal Industries Limited wrongfully sold off portions of its allotment in a direct breach of those conditions.
Hampton Sky Realty allegedly altered the specified land use without the Punjab government’s approval, concealing material facts during subsequent applications to establish the residential complex and business park on the site.
PSIEC managing director Rubinderjit Singh Brar said he had recently joined the post and was currently on leave. “I will have to check with my office whether any summons have been received from the agency,” he said.