E-Paper
Punjab: Forest scam: ED attaches properties worth ₹53.64 of forest officer
ED investigation revealed that the accused procured bills of various non-existent entities and transferred funds to the bank account of various private persons, and later received the amount in cash
The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable property worth ₹53.64 lakh belonging to Sukhwinder Singh, then range forest officer, Budhlada forest range, in connection with a money laundering investigation related to the forest scam during the Congress regime from 2017 to 2022.
ED initiated an investigation based on two FIRs registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act.
Sukhwinder was suspended after he was arrested by the vigilance bureau in August 2022 for alleged embezzlement of ₹45.69 lakh meant for cemented tree guards and ₹7 lakh for bamboo tree guards in connivance with the then divisional forest officer of Mansa and others.
His suspension was revoked last year, and he is set to retire in 2026.
ED investigation revealed that Sukhwinder procured bills of various non-existent entities and transferred funds to the bank account of various private persons, and later received the amount in cash.
Through these criminal activities, the accused forest officer acquired proceeds of crime (POC) to the tune of ₹53.64 lakh, the ED statement added.
This is the same case in which former forest minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot was arrested after a case under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and a prosecution complaint was filed against him in the PMLA court in Mohali. The court in March this year framed charges against the former minister.
Dharamsot, who is presently out on bail, was arrested by the federal agency on January 15 last year. The agency had provisionally attached Dharamsot’s various properties to the tune of ₹4.58 crore in this case.
According to the VB probe, the accused allegedly prepared fake bills of bogus firms and withdrew the money by diverting government funds to different bank accounts.
The VB probe has revealed that in 2021, under the compensatory afforestation scheme, the principal chief conservator, Punjab, had approved the forest range, Mansa, for the procurement of 5,872 RCC tree guards, out of which 2,537 tree guards were to be prepared by the forest range officer, Mansa. Sukhwinder showed the purchase of 2,537 cemented tree guards from two private firms in Sangrur and Patiala and obtained purchase bills from these firms. During the investigation into the GST numbers and contact numbers of these firms written on their bills, it was found that no firm exists with the present addresses, the VB probe said.
