ED attaches Khaira’s Chandigarh house in money laundering case

Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached a residential property worth Rs 3.82 crore in Chandigarh belonging to former Punjab MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The action was taken on March 8, 2025.

According to ED, Khaira allegedly received and used proceeds of crime worth Rs 3.82 crore from an international drug syndicate operated by Gurdev Singh and his associates. The agency claimed that in exchange for facilitating drug smuggling, Singh paid Khaira the amount in cash and also funded his election campaigns.

The case is linked to an earlier investigation by the Punjab Police, during which 1,800 grams of heroin, firearms, Pakistani SIM cards, gold biscuits, and mobile phones were recovered.

Gurdev Singh was found in possession of 350 grams of heroin, a Pakistani SIM, a .32 bore revolver, and 24 gold biscuits, among other items. In 2017, a special court in Fazilka convicted him and eight others under the NDPS Act, 1985.

Reacting to the ED’s action, Khaira said, “I’ve learnt through media that ED has attached my Chandigarh residence, which I have owned for decades, as part of their PMLA case against me. Sharing of such sub judice information on X by ED itself shows they’re more interested in media trials and character assassination rather than judicial proceedings.”

Khaira also accused the BJP-led central government and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s administration of political vendetta, saying he would continue his fight against their policies.