The accused individuals and their associates, including Kudratdeep Singh, M/s Pinjore Royalty Company and its Partners/Shareholders Kanwarmahip Singh & Manpreet Singh, Sunil Kumar Joshi, Jagveer Inder Singh, Randeep Singh, M/s Providers Overseas Consultants Pvt Ltd & its other Directors/Shareholders including Bhupinder Singh & Sandeep Kumar, have been the subject of a search operation by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). The search resulted in the discovery and seizure of several incriminating papers relating to the sand mining industry, real estate transactions, mobile phones, Indian money worth more than Rs 10 Crore, gold worth more than 21 lakhs, and a Rolex watch for Rs 12 lakhs.
On the basis of an FIR filed by the Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar Police Station in Punjab under sections 379, 420, 465, 467, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 21(1) and 4(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Regulation of Development) Act, 1957, the ED opened a money laundering investigation. In the aforementioned FIR, it was stated that a team made a surprise check on 07.03.2018 based on a complaint about illegal sand mining that was received at the Police Station – Rahon, SBS Nagar. The team was made up of officials from the Mining Department, Civil Administration, and Police Department.
As a consequence, it was found that mining was taking place outside of the designated area and that several mines were being worked by various pieces of machinery. The investigation team was able to seize a number of tippers/trucks, porcelain machines, JCB machines, and other things as a consequence. The confiscated tipper/trucks were also found to be laden with sand. The weigh-in papers with the office stamp that were seized were false and had not been issued by the appropriate authority. As a result, the team decided to stop mining at the Malikpur mining site as well as approving weighment slips. In addition to Malikpur, the FIR asserts that illicit mining activities were allegedly conducted in Burjtahl Das, Barsal, Lalewal, Mandala, and Khosa.
An inquiry was launched against the aforementioned mine owners and their accomplices based on the facts at hand in order to determine the money laundering operations they engaged in order to conceal the proceeds of their crimes. In this instance, more investigation is continuing.
