Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh ‘Honey’ was sent to 14-day judicial custody in illegal sand mining case on Friday, 11 February.
The development comes ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections on 20 February.
The Enforcement Directorate on 7 February said that Honey had received Rs 10 crore cash in lieu of facilitating illegal sand mining and transfer-posting of certain officials.
Honey was arrested following a day-long questioning in Jalandhar on 4 February.
"We have no objections with the law doing its work," Punjab CM Channi said when asked about the arrest.
Reacting to the raids, Channi had said last month that the move was meant to pressurise him ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, adding that "it is not good for democracy."
Rs 10 Crore Recovered during Raid: ED
The ED also claimed to have recovered Rs 10 crore in cash during searches conducted in January.
The agency had carried out searches at the residence of Honey and others in Punjab’s Mohali, Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Pathankot last month.
The financial investigative agency had said that incriminating documents related to illegal sand mining operations and properties were also recovered during the raids, as per an ANI report.
(With inputs from ANI and India Today)
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