ED arrests Punjab CM’s nephew

Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Bhupinder Singh alias Honey, nephew of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal sand mining, sparking a political slugfest in the poll-bound state.

ED sources said on Friday that Honey was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act late Thursday night after several hours of questioning at the agency’s office in Jalandhar.

The sources claimed Honey was evasive in his replies and was hence taken into custody. The ED produced Honey before a special PMLA court in Jalandhar which remanded him to five-day custody of the agency. Honey is the son of Channi’s sister-in-law. On Jan 18, the agency had raided Honey’s premises and claimed to have seized about Rs 8 crore cash and “incriminating” documents in connection with illegal sand mining in Punjab. Property belonging to a few others were also raided. The arrest comes days before Rahul Gandhi’s likely announcement of the party’s chief ministerial candidate in Punjab.