New Delhi/Chandigarh, Feb 4 (IANS) A court in Punjab's Jalandhar city on Friday sent Bhupinder Singh Honey, Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew, to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till February 8 in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering case pertaining to illegal mining in Punjab.
The ED on late Thursday arrested him after over eight hours of questioning. He was summoned for the second time.
Honey was earlier summoned by the ED to join the investigation on January 23, but he skipped the first summon on health issues and did not join the investigation.
He informed the ED officials that he was Covid-19 positive and was unable to join the probe.
On January 18, the ED had conducted raids at 10 locations, including Homeland Heights which is the residence of Honey.
The ED continued raiding at different places for two days and recovered incriminating documents.
Honey was asked to appear before the ED's zonal office in Jalandhar. He had to record his statement in connection with the ongoing probe.
The ED officials had recorded the statement of Kudrat Deep Singh, the business partner of Honey.
The ED official had said that they seized incriminating documents pertaining to illegal sand mining, property transactions, cell phones, gold worth above Rs 21 lakh and a watch worth Rs 12 lakh and cash Rs 10 crore during the raid.
A source said that the documents recovered by them have confirmed that Kudrat Deep Singh was running two firms and Bhupinder Singh Honey was a joint director in them.
As per sources, the firms are basically shell companies, but ED has found a lot of money transactions. One of the firms is Provider Overseas Consultancy Limited, which was incorporated in 2018 with 33.33 per cent equal shares.
The ED case is on the basis of a two-year old first information report (FIR). Punjab Police had on March 7, 2018, lodged a case against more than 10 accused.
The ED initiated a money laundering probe on the basis of this FIR pertaining to illegal sand mining in Punjab in November last year.
The FIR has been accessed by IANS which was filed under several sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Bhupinder Singh Honey was not named in the Punjab Police's FIR and Kudrat Deep Singh was given a clean chit in the matter.
The ED found that money was being laundered by the accused involved in the case and they started probing the matter.
Sidhu was charged under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code for voluntary causing hurt, however he was let off with just fine. The top court had observed that the incident was more than 30 years old, and there was no past hostility between accused and victim. The court also noted that no weapon was used by the accused.
The accused has been identified as Noori Ibrahim, a resident of Vellore, Tamil Nadu. Her agent, Ibraheem Keethadth, a resident of Bengaluru, has also been arrested.
Sisodia concluded with "dissatisfaction" over unchanged Income Tax slab. "Today, this country needed some relief in the income tax slabs. This would have helped our middle class regain purchasing power and enter the markets. This would have naturally helped the economy grow."
Observing the 3rd World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day as a key moment to highlight the global community's commitment to ending these, India joined close to 40 other nations to illuminate iconic landmarks to raise awareness. This year, India lit up the New Delhi Railway Station in purple and orange hues to mark the occasion.
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The deceased, identified as Megha Kayal, 40, was working as a doctor in London Milton Keynes University Hospital. Prior to this, she was a doctor at Apollo hospital, Sarita Vihar, Delhi.
