Illegal Sand Mining: ED summons former Punjab CM Charanjit Channi for questioning

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Charanjit Channi in a sand mining and transfer posting case. He skipped the summons earlier on April 4 and now new summons has been issued on April 16.

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier filed a charge sheet against the former Chief Minister Charanjit Channi's nephew Bhupendra Singh Honey and on February 4 Honey was arrested in a money laundering case related to sand mining.

Bhupinder Singh, alias Honey, and his aide Kudratdeep Singh on Wednesday filed a bail plea in the special PMLA court in Jalandhar in the illegal sand mining case.

Honey was arrested on February 3 this year and is in judicial custody. The enforcement directorate had filed chargesheet against Honey and Kudrat on March 31 in the illegal sand mining case under the money laundering charges in the Jalandhar court. Special PMLA judge Rupinderjit Chahal has fixed the next hearing on April 16.

In his bail plea, Honey alleged that the ED built up the case. He and Kudratdeep launched a company “Providers Overseas Consultants Private Limited” and both were the shareholders whereas Honey has no link or nexus with the FIR registered against Kudrat in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district in 2018 in illegal sand mining.

The ED had on March 31 filed chargesheet against Honey and Kudaratdeep Singh in PMLA Court under sections 3 (offence of money-laundering), 4 (punishment for money-laundering), 44 (offence triable by special courts), and 45 (offences to be cognizable and non-bailable).

Honey was arrested on the intervening night of February 3 and 4 by the ED, and as per rules, the agency had to file a chargesheet against him within 60 days.