ED summons Mohali SSP over Suntec City farmers' cheating case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a summons to the SSP, Mohali, directing him to furnish information in connection with the alleged cheating of farmers in the Suntec City real estate project. The SSP has been directed to appear before the agency and provide the required details on September 10. Sources said the summons followed repeated requests by ED for investigation records under Section 54 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency had sought details of the police investigation on August 27, 29 and 31, but the SSP's office did not provide the information. ED had earlier forwarded the findings of its investigation to the Mohali police through letters and emails dated July 1, July 21, August 14, August 24 and August 25. These communications highlighted material indicating the commission of cognisable offences and sought the registration of fresh cases. However, the agency has received no response to its request for registration of new offences. The case stems from an FIR registered in November 2022 at the Mullanpur police station against Ajay Sehgal, then secretary of Indian Cooperative House Building Society, and other office-bearers. The complaint alleged that farmers were cheated of legitimate consideration for their land through forged consent letters used to obtain change-of-land-use permissions for the Suntec City project in New Chandigarh. The matter was also taken up by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in CWP 9767 of 2022. The ED's money-laundering investigation, based on the 2022 FIR, has already led to Sehgal's arrest and the filing of a prosecution complaint, which quantified the alleged proceeds of crime at nearly Rs 348 crore. The agency has maintained that the farmers were deprived of legitimate consideration for their land in the process. The Mohali police had recently sought the views of Housing and Urban Development Department on ED's findings. The summons to the SSP is being seen as the agency's next step to secure the pending investigation records and responses.