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Chandigarh: The federal Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday searching raids at multiple locations in Punjab as part of a money laundering probe against illegal sand mining companies, weeks before elections in the state on February 20.
The Federal Investigation Agency this morning also raided the residence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey and 10 other places in Punjab in connection with illegal sand mining in Mohali this morning.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a case of money laundering and is investigating several people with political links, officials said.
The raids come in the middle of intense campaigning in Punjab, which will vote on February 20. The results will be declared on March 10.
Illegal sand mining has been one of the talking points in the Punjab campaign. The ruling Congress has been accused by its former Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, of links to the trade.
Amarinder Singh, who quit the Congress after being sacked as Chief Minister in September, alleges that all Congress MLAs are involved in the illegal trade of sand.
“If I start telling names I will have to start from the top,” he had said last month.
Mr Singh also told reporters that he had informed Congress president Sonia Gandhi about MLAs involved.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has emerged as a strong challenge to the Congress in Punjab, has also targeted Chief Minister Channi over allegations of illegal sand mining in his constituency.
