Chandigarh: Taking up an urgent hearing application filed by the Punjab government seeking judicial intervention, the Punjab and Haryana high court has appointed a warrant officer to monitor the ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids and submit a status report by 2pm on Thursday.
The warrant officer has been granted liberty to visit and inspect the search sites at any time.
The court’s step follows an ED search operation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The agency expanded its multi-city sweep on Wednesday by raiding the house of Gurpreet Singh Saini, the nephew of Punjab revenue minister Hardeep Singh Mundian, in Sahnewal, Ludhiana, even as searches at the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) headquarters continued for a second consecutive day.
ED teams, led by senior officers, also broke open the locks of a government bungalow in Sector 39, Chandigarh, used by former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, to search for relevant material.
The central agency’s wider operation spans premises across Delhi, Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali, and Ludhiana, targeting the promoters, directors, and associates of Tirupati Infraprojects Pvt Ltd alongside linked firms such as Remigate Buildestates, MB Infrabuild, and Mera Baba Reality.
Investigators are probing alleged irregularities and the role of a private consultancy firm in facilitating illegal land acquisitions, changes in land use, and compensation payments.
Officials estimate that potential undue gains to these private entities and corresponding losses to the exchequer could exceed ₹100 crore. Tirupati Infraprojects is separately facing heat for an alleged ₹290-crore bank fraud linked to a hotel project in New Delhi, alongside suspect funds connected to an IDFC First Bank fake fixed-deposit case moving into Mohali real estate.
At the GMADA headquarters, the probe covers files detailing the acquisition of over 5,000 acres in Mohali and New Chandigarh, changes from agricultural to commercial or residential zoning, and controversial regularisations of shamlat (common) village lands. Decisions taken in the housing and urban development department since KAP Sinha assumed the chairmanship of PUDA in June 2025 are also being scrutinised.
The continuous operation rendered the GMADA office virtually sealed off for public dealing, leaving senior officials inside overnight. Key administrators, including GMADA chief administrator Sandeep Rishi, PUDA additional chief administrator Rajesh Kumar Popli, and chief engineer Ajay Garg, remained at the headquarters, with nearly 150 mattresses brought into the complex and food delivered from outside as searches stretched past 24 hours. Routine public interactions and land acquisition operations for major initiatives like the Aerotropolis project came to a virtual halt.
The raids have ignited a political battle between the state and the Centre. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP-led central government of misusing central agencies to intimidate state leadership, disrupt GMADA’s administrative functioning, and stall welfare initiatives like the Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana, claiming the Centre was resorting to coercion after losing political ground in Punjab.