The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Punjab AAP MLA Amandeep Kaur Arora for questioning in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in land acquisition compensation, officials said on Wednesday.
The central agency has asked the 42-year-old legislator from Moga to appear before its Chandigarh office on November 26, while her husband, Rakesh Arora, has been summoned for November 25. Their statements will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.
The summons followed searches conducted by the ED on November 4 at premises linked to the MLA, her husband and a hospital-cum-de-addiction centre associated with them.
Amandeep Kaur, an MBBS doctor and president of the Punjab AAP women's wing, has been accused by the agency of involvement in facilitating the alleged diversion of compensation funds meant for people whose land was acquired for a national highway project.
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ
The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered at Dharamkot police station in Moga over alleged manipulation of revenue records relating to government land in Adhraman village.
According to the ED, the manipulation resulted in the wrongful disbursement of more than Rs 1 crore in compensation for land acquired for the construction of National Highway 754A.
The agency said its investigation uncovered the alleged fraudulent acquisition and transfer of several government, municipal and charitable properties.
"These properties were allegedly acquired or transferred in favour of the MLA's relatives and other associated persons through manipulation of revenue records and execution of property documents," the ED said in a statement.
The agency further alleged that the MLA, her husband and other associates facilitated the diversion and siphoning off of compensation funds.
Following the November 4 searches, the ED claimed to have recovered incriminating documents, electronic devices and other evidence indicating the alleged acquisition of benami properties by the legislator and her associates.
๐ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ
Amandeep Kaur has rejected the allegations and accused the BJP of using central investigative agencies to target political opponents.
Following the searches, she claimed that ED officials had conducted raids lasting 42 hours at her residence and repeatedly pressured her to join the BJP in exchange for a ministerial position.
The legislator also disputed the agency's claims about the searches, asserting that officials had failed to recover any money despite extensively searching her residence and hospital.
Speaking to reporters, she maintained that the ED had returned empty-handed and accused the agency of acting under political pressure.
The allegations made by the MLA against the BJP and the ED have not been independently established.
Amandeep Kaur, who also heads the Punjab unit of AAP's women's wing, has been renominated by the party to contest the Moga Assembly constituency in the state elections scheduled for early next year.
The ED is expected to question the MLA and her husband separately later this month as part of its investigation into the alleged laundering of funds linked to the land acquisition compensation case.