Channi's nephew arrested: All you need to know about the multi crore illegal mining case

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh alias Honey in a 2018 illegal sand mining case. With the state going to polls on February 20, a lot of politics has erupted in the name of sand mining, with parties accusing the ruling Congress of sheltering the sand mafia.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that the sand mafia in Punjab was running an illegal mining business worth over Rs 20,000 crores with the support of the Congress party. However, Channi has accused the BJP-led Central government of hatching a “conspiracy” to “trap” him in the sand mining case ahead of the Punjab election. The CM also accused the BJP of trying to exact “revenge” over the lapse in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security during his visit to Ferozepur earlier in January.

But what is this multi-crore illegal sand mining scam and why are political names associated with the case? Here's what we know so far.

Illegal sand mining in Punjab: How it started

According to reports, there is an estimated demand of 2 crore tonnes of sand in Punjab every year that is sold at exorbitant prices which results in consumers paying exorbitant prices for a tractor-trolley, due to which an alleged mafia began to control the illegal business to pocket crores of rupees. Prior to 2005, sand was a very cheap commodity, but with the real estate booming and several road projects coming to the state, the demand for sand increased, thus grabbing the attention of both politicians and the mafia.

In 2018, the Enforcement Directorate initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar police station regarding illegal mining operations in the state. A team comprising officials of the Mining Department, Civil Administration, and Police Department conducted a surprise check in Malikpur on March 7, 2018, and found that several mines were being excavated using various machines, beyond the designated area.

The investigating team then impounded several tippers and trucks, porcelain machines, and JCB machines loaded with sand. The weightage slips carrying office stamps also turned out to be forged. Consequently, the mining operation at the Malikpur mining site was stopped, and the approval of weightage slips was also halted by the team. 

As per the Punjab Police FIR, apart from Malikpur, illegal mining activities were also carried out at Burjtahl Das, Barsal, Lalewal, Mandala, and Khosa.

The investigation and raids picked up pace after former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, in his resignation letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, alleged the role of Congress MLAs and Ministers in illegal sand mining. 

ED seizes Rs 8 crore cash from Bhupinder Singh Honey's premises

On January 19, the ED raided the business and residential premises of people accused of illegal sand mining, including Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey. The raids were conducted at 10 locations in Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Pathankot, among others. 

The ED found several incriminating documents, mobile phones, over Rs.10 crore cash, gold worth above Rs.21 lakh, and a Rolex watch worth Rs.12 lakh were seized during the searches. While Rs 8 crore was recovered from premises linked to Honey in Mohali and Ludhiana and Rs 2 crore from his accomplice Sandeep. 

Subsequently, Honey was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) late Thursday night after several hours of questioning at the agency's office in Jalandhar. Sources claimed he was evasive in his replies and was hence taken into custody. The ED will produce him before a special PMLA court in Mohali on Friday seeking his remand.

It is suspected that shell companies were used to launder money and carry out the illegal sand mining operation. The investigation conducted so far reveals that the Chief Minister's nephew, along with Kudratdeep Singh and Sandeep Kumar were Directors of "Providers Overseas Consultants Private Limited." The company was reportedly set up in October 2018, six months after which an FIR was killed against Kudratdeep Singh.