Bholath Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira’s residential house in Chandigarh sector 5 was attached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 8, 2025. This major development is “proceeds of crime” under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED has been connecting it with an ongoing case of the Congress leader.
The allegations by ED have been denied by Khaira and he outlined that he was not aware about the attachment of his house and got to know about this information through media. Further, he blamed BJP for targeting the leaders of opposition and misusing its powers over central agencies. He also called his move “pure character assassination.”
Khaira took X, formerly known as Twitter, to address the issue. He stated, “I’ve just learnt through the media that ED has attached my Chandigarh residence about which I want to clarify that I have received no notice about this from ED or any other government source. Even if the news is correct I should have been notified instead of the news being released to the media. This is nothing but pure character assassination apart from the known fact that BJP is misusing ED to witch hunt opposition leaders across India.”
It is to be noted that Gurdev Singh with eight others, was convicted by a special court in Fazilka under various sections of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act, 1985. The order was released on October 31, 2017.
The further investigation by ED revealed that Khaira utilised POC to the tune of Rs 3.82 crore generated by Gurdev Singh and his associates, based overseas. Reportedly, the money was generated through an international drug syndicate. ED has further revealed that this amount was offered by Singh to Khaira and he also aided Kaira’s election campaigns.
Before the arrest, Singh worked as the Chairman of the Market Committee and was believed to be a very close associate of Khaira.
The investigation by ED has also unveiled that Khaira and his family spent around Rs 6.61 crore between April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2020, out of which Rs 3.82 crore was unaccounted expenditure. The same information was mentioned on handwritten notebooks which were revealed during investigations on March 9 and March 10, 2021.
Khaira was arrested on November 11, 2021 under section 19 of the PMLA 2002. Following this, on January 6, 2022 a Prosecution Complaint was filed before PMLA Court Mohali, Punjab against both Singh and Khaira. The court framed the charges through an order dated October 17, 2023.