ED files police complaint against ex-Haryana MLA, others for illegal mining

ED had arrested Dilbag Singh and his associate Kulwinder Singh after raiding about 20 premises of the two politicians and their linked persons

The Enforcement Directorate has filed an FIR with the police against former Haryana MLA Dilbag Singh and a dozen others allegedly associated with him on charges of illegal mining and "diverting" the flow of the River Yamuna.

The federal agency had raided the former Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) legislator from Yamunanagar assembly seat, Congress MLA from Sonipat Surender Panwar and their linked entities earlier this month in an alleged illegal mining linked money laundering case.

It had arrested Dilbag Singh and his associate Kulwinder Singh after raiding about 20 premises of the two politicians and their linked persons in Yamunanagar, Sonipat, Mohali, Faridabad, Chandigarh, and Karnal.

These searches were based on a case, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), that took cognisance of multiple FIRs of the Haryana Police regarding illegal mining of boulders, gravel and sand that took place in the past in Yamunanagar and nearby districts even after the lease expiry period and the National Green Tribunal's order.

The ED's Gurugram zone joint director Navaneet Agrawal had filed a police FIR at the Pratap Nagar police station in Yamunanagar on January 19 alleging that the searches conducted by the agency on January 4 found that Singh, his associates and some companies "violated environmental norms such as in-stream mining using heavy machinery during off hours, diversion of the flow of the River Yamuna by laying layer of sand in the lease area to extract more quantity of sand."

The complaint added that the proceeds earned out of the "illegal unscientific mining" has been routed through various dummy entities in fictitious names, depositing huge cash in those entities and layering of such money into their personal bank accounts, related companies and entities.

The agency named firms like Delhi Royalty Company, Mubarikpur Royalty Company, Development Strategies (India) Pvt. Ltd, JSM foods Pvt. Ltd and PS Buildtech in the FIR while it named Dilbag Singh, Rajinder Singh and 11 other persons as accused.

It has invoked sections of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation of Development) Act, Environment Protection Act, and section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, in the FIR.

The agency may include the contents of this FIR in its ongoing money laundering case against Dilbag Singh and others.