Chandigarh March 12 — The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached the Sector-5 residence of Bholath Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira in connection with a drug trafficking-linked money laundering case.
According to ED, the house has been attached as “proceeds of crime,” with investigations revealing that Khaira allegedly received ₹3.82 crore from an international drug syndicate led by Gurdev Singh and his overseas-based associates. The agency claims the amount was provided in exchange for “protection or passage for smuggling narcotic drugs” and was also used to fund Khaira’s election campaigns.
Gurdev Singh, a former chairman of the Market Committee, Dhilwan, was a close associate of Khaira. Between April 1, 2014, and March 31, 2020, Khaira and his family reportedly spent ₹6.61 crore.
ED claims that ₹3.82 crore in unaccounted expenditure, exceeding their known income sources, was uncovered through handwritten notebooks seized during searches conducted on March 10, 2021.
Khaira was arrested on November 11, 2021, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and a prosecution complaint was filed against him and Gurdev Singh in the PMLA Court, Mohali, on January 6, 2022. Charges were framed by the court on October 17, 2023.
Denying any prior intimation, Khaira called the move “character assassination” and accused the BJP of misusing the ED. “I have received no notice about the attachment of my Chandigarh house from the ED or any other government source. I should have been notified instead of the news being released to the media,” he said.
Khaira’s alleged involvement traces back to a 2015 Fazilka case investigated by Punjab Police, where multiple raids led to the seizure of 1.8 kg heroin, firearms, Pakistani SIM cards, gold biscuits, and mobile phones. Gurdev Singh was convicted along with eight others under the NDPS Act on October 31, 2017.
