Mohali: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted extensive searches at locations linked to the controversial Gulmohar Township project in Phase 9 of Mohali’s industrial area, bringing renewed scrutiny to officials in Punjab’s industries department.
The investigation is reportedly linked to a disproportionate assets case against former Punjab industries minister Sunder Sham Arora and alleged irregularities in the allotment of industrial plots by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC).
Several senior IAS officers who served in the industries department during the period under investigation have also come under the scanner.
In 2023, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau registered a criminal case against Arora, a senior IAS officer and 10 government employees over allegations of transferring an industrial plot to a real estate company and approving its subdivision for township development.
The case also named three owners of Gulmohar Township Private Limited, the real estate firm associated with the project.
The Vigilance Bureau had alleged a conspiracy to extend illegal benefits to the company and arrested seven PSIEC officials in connection with the case.
However, the officials were subsequently reinstated, and the government later granted fresh approval to the project.
