ED raids premises of Punjab CM's nephew, others in illegal sand mining case
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New Delhi: Just weeks before the state elections, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew and several others in connection with illegal sand mining.
Mr Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey's home and ten other places across poll-bound Punjab were searched early this morning.
As per a PTI report, 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.
The single-phase polls in all 117 constituencies of Punjab were rescheduled to February 20 from February 14, following demands from political parties in the state seeking a change on account of Guru Ravi Das Jayanti, which will be observed on February 16.