The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) raid at the residence of former industries minister and Congress leader Sunder Sham Arora continued for the second day on Tuesday. The operation, which began around 5 am on Monday, is being conducted in connection with a case related to Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and disproportionate assets. Arora’s legal counsel HS Saini, who was allowed to meet him on the first day, didn’t get permission to enter the premises on Tuesday. Saini said documents related to Arora’s business deals were being examined.

Around midnight, the ED team also searched the office of a hospital on Phagwara road, co-owned by Arora. ED officials wishing not to be named said the scope of the investigation is quite extensive. Separate ED teams are simultaneously raiding the premises of former minister’s son Prateek Arora, as well as his business associates. These include major real estate developers, such as Marbella Group and Gulmohar Township Group.

Arora’s name had surfaced in Mohali Industrial plot transfer case in which he was accused of violating rules to transfer a plot belonging to the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) to a real estate company. It was alleged that approval was given to split the land for 12 industrial plots into 125 plots against regulations. In January 2023, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau registered a case against him and some PSIEC officials in this matter.

However, the Punjab and Haryana high court subsequently quashed the FIR related to this case in December 2024. He was arrested by the vigilance in a bribery case and is currently on bail.

This is not the first time Arora has come under the radar of investigative agencies. On January 27, income tax officials conducted a search at his residence.