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Punjab: ED quizzes IAS officer Brar for 2nd time in CLU money-laundering probe
The agency sought a detailed written reply from Brar on the partial revocation of CLU for the Suntec City project and changes made to the approved layout of the Altus Space Builders project
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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned Punjab-cadre IAS officer Kanwal Preet Brar for nearly seven hours in connection with its money-laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in change of land use (CLU) approvals for major real-estate projects in Punjab.
This was Brar’s second appearance before the agency. The 2007-batch IAS officer, who served as director, town and country planning, in 2024 and is currently posted as Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, was earlier questioned for nine hours at the ED’s regional headquarters in Jalandhar on August 18.
An ED official familiar with the investigation said Brar had been asked to bring additional documents concerning clearances granted for two real-estate projects, including Suntec City and Altus Space Builders Pvt Ltd, by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh.
The agency sought a detailed written reply from Brar on the partial revocation of CLU for the Suntec City project and changes made to the approved layout of the Altus Space Builders project.
She was also questioned about the alleged failure of the developers to transfer land earmarked for economically weaker sections (EWS) to the GMADA estate officer, as required under the conditions of the project licence.
The ED also sought an explanation regarding the alleged failure of GMADA to take action against the developers despite receiving multiple complaints about the purported use of forged consent letters.
The questioning comes after the ED filed a nearly 3,500-page prosecution complaint before the special PMLA court in Mohali on July 20. The agency has accused realtor Ajay Sehgal of being a key figure in the alleged generation and concealment of proceeds of crime estimated at around ₹348 crore.
The ED has summoned former Punjab chief secretary Anurag Verma for questioning in the case on August 31.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR registered at Mullanpur police station in November 2022 against Sehgal and other office-bearers of the Indian Cooperative Housing Building Society (ICHBS), including Suresh Kumar Bajaj, Aashish Kamra and Rajesh Girdhar. They were accused of allegedly cheating landowners and customers through fraudulent CLUs and related documents.
Sehgal, described by the ED as a key promoter of the Suntec City project, was arrested by the agency on May 22.
According to the ED, Sehgal, who was associated with ICHBS Ltd, allegedly submitted forged consent letters to the Department of Town and Country Planning to obtain CLUs for 108.58 acres of agricultural land for residential and commercial development.
The agency has alleged that the CLUs subsequently formed the basis for obtaining a licence from GMADA and registration of the project under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA).
According to the prosecution complaint, the ED quantified the alleged proceeds of crime at approximately ₹348 crore, comprising around ₹212.58 crore in sales and ₹135.41 crore in unsold inventory.
