After Kejriwal, ED targets Punjab, raids excise commissioner’s house
Varun Roojam had allegedly invested in the guava orchard influenced by former GMADA Rajesh Dhiman
Days after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a raid on Wednesday at the residence of the Punjab Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Varun Roojam, located in Sector 20, Chandigarh.
Roojam had previously been questioned and raided by the ED. The latest action came after a complaint by Sunil Kumar Jakhar, the BJP state chief, to the Election Commission of India (ECI), urging an investigation into Punjab’s excise policy. Sources revealed that the ED was in the process of summoning excise department officials from Delhi for interrogation.
The ED’s raid has intensified pressure on the Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, as its excise policy has been under the ED’s scrutiny for some time. This development occurred as the AAP was gearing up for a major rally in Delhi.
The ED registered a case after taking note of a Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) FIR concerning the misappropriation of RS 137 crore allocated as compensation for guava orchards on land acquired by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) in Bakarpur village. The VB filed the case under Sections 409, 420, 465, 466, 468, 471, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Sections 13(1)(a) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in Mohali on May 2, 2023.
The VB had arrested about 20 persons, including some horticulture department officials, in this case, the sources said.
An alleged accused, identified as property dealer Bhupinder Singh, “in connivance with” some officials of the GMADA, revenue and horticulture departments, started planting guava orchards on
the said agricultural land by getting land on general power of attorneys, as per an old statement issued by the vigilance bureau.
Allegations suggested that Varun Roojam had invested in the orchard through his family members at the behest of Rajesh Dhiman, the then additional chief administrator (ACA) of GMADA.
