ED arrests Punjab CM's nephew on charges of money laundering
New Delhi(PTI): 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 in the border state, officials said on Friday.
They said Honey was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) late Thursday night after several hours of questioning at the agency's office in Jalandhar.
Sources claimed he was evasive in his replies and was hence taken into custody. The ED will produce him before a special PMLA court in Mohali on Friday seeking his remand.
Honey is the son of Channi's sister-in-law.
On January 18, the agency had raided his premises and claimed to have seized about Rs 8 crore cash and "incriminating" documents. Property belonging to a few others were also raided.
The development comes days before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to announce the party's chief ministerial candidate in the poll-bound state. Gandhi is expected to make this announcement during his virtual rally in Ludhiana on Sunday and Channi is stated to be the front runner.
Punjab will go to polls on February 20.
After the raids last months, ED sources had claimed that the agency had recovered over Rs 10 crore in cash and several documents, of which Rs 8 crore and most of the papers were seized from premises linked to Honey alone.
About Rs 2 crore cash was seized from the premises linked to a person identified as Sandeep Kumar.
The ED had then issued a statement saying those covered in the raids included Kudratdeep Singh, Pinjore Royalty company and its partners/shareholders, Kanwarmahip Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sunil Kumar Joshi, Jagveer Inder Singh, Randeep Singh, Providers Overseas Consultants Pvt Ltd and its other directors, shareholders, including Honey and Sandeep Kumar, at Mohali, Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Pathankot.
Channi had told reporters that as relatives of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were raided during the Assembly polls in that state, the "same pattern" was being followed by the ED in Punjab to "pressure" him, his ministers and the Congress party members.
The ED filed a criminal case under PMLA last November.
The case is based on a 2018 FIR at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar police station that pressed charges under the Indian Penal Code and Mines and Minerals (Regulation of Development) Act, 1957.
In this police FIR, the ED said, it was mentioned that a team of officials from the mining department, civil administration and police made a surprise check at the Malikpur mining site on March 7, 2018, on the basis of a complaint received at Rahon, SBS Nagar police station, regarding illegal sand mining.
Subsequently, the mining operation at Malikpur was stopped.
Illegal mining activities were also carried out at Burjtahl Das, Barsal, Lalewal, Mandala and Khosa, the ED said quoting the police FIR.
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Jaishankar holds talks with Russia's Lavrov; trade, geopolitics top agenda
New Delhi (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held "productive" talks on Wednesday to advance bilateral cooperation in energy and trade amid shifting geopolitical tensions.
Jaishankar met Lavrov, shortly after the Russian foreign minister landed in New Delhi to attend a two-day conclave of the BRICS member states beginning Thursday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and South Africa's Minister for International Relations Ozzy Lamola are among those who already arrived in the national capital for the BRICS foreign ministerial meeting.
Jaishankar and Lavrov are learnt to have deliberated on the West Asia crisis as well as the Ukraine conflict.
In a social media post, the external affairs minister described his talks with his Russian counterpart as "productive exchange of views".
"Our conversation touched upon several aspects of the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, including trade and investment, energy and connectivity, science and technology, as well as facilitating mobility of skills and talent," he said.
"Other global and multilateral issues of mutual interest were also discussed," he said.
It is not immediately known if India's procurement of Russian crude oil figured in the talks.
In his televised opening remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar said India and Russia have a shared interest in strengthening multipolarity and could benefit through greater "de-risking" .
"The last few years have seen a steady and sustained growth in our bilateral partnership. Its economic and energy dimensions have become pronounced. Our political cooperation is even more valuable in an uncertain and volatile global environment," Jaishankar said.
"We have expanded our collaboration in science and technology. The mobility of talents and skills has acquired greater salience and our interest in ensuring better connectivity is deeper," he said.
"The complicated international situation also merits an open exchange of views, especially between two trusted partners," he said.
The external affairs minister said India and Russia have a shared interest in strengthening multipolarity.
Jaishankar also held separate bilateral talks with Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira South Africa's Ozzy Lamola.
The external affairs minister also met Maldivian Foreign Minister Iruthisham Adam.
"Underlined our Neighbourhood First policy and reviewed our bilateral cooperation. Reiterated India's commitment to Maldives' progress and development," he said on X.
India, as the chair of the BRICS, is hosting the conclave of the foreign ministers ahead of the annual summit of the grouping in September.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates, with Indonesia joining in 2025.
It has emerged as an influential grouping as it brings together 11 major emerging economies of the world, representing around 49.5 per cent of the global population, around 40 per cent of the global GDP and around 26 per cent of the global trade.
The BRICS meeting will be chaired by Jaishankar.
