Ambala court takes note of ED’s complaint against former Cong MLA

An Ambala special court has taken cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) prosecution complaint against former Congress MLA Surender Panwar and two others, alleging illegal mining in Yamunanagar.

The case will come up for hearing on August 1. The Yamunanagar police have registered nine FIRs in connection with the case.

According to the ED, Panwar and former INLD legislator Dilbagh Singh, along with their associates, held a meeting in Chandigarh before the auction of mining blocks and collectively secured 10 licences for leases ranging from six to nine years.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had, on May 21, directed to grant Panwar an opportunity to be heard before taking cognisance, as per Section 223(1) of the BNSS.

In its complaint, the ED had stated that during inspections by the mining team, police, and CM flying squad in the mining areas of Bilaspur and Pratap Nagar, certain transport vehicles loaded with sand, boulders, and gravel were intercepted, and drivers were found to be carrying invalid e-rawana bills, or none at all. It said after verifying the office records of the screening plants, it was found that the e-rawana bills shown for the purchase of mineral did not exist on the portal, and all the purchases and sales were made through fake e-rawana.

It was also alleged that inspections of specific plants were conducted, which revealed a significant discrepancy in the mineral mined and sold. During one of the inspections, the ED discovered that the plant owner had sold 3,97,661 cubic feet of mineral, which was illegally mined and sold without issuing an e-rawana.

The ED claims that the modus operandi of the syndicate was to do “mining on the permitted lands (allotted sites) by excavating more than the permitted depth”, mining not only from their authorised areas, but also “from the surrounding areas also which was not authorised”, and “generating e-rawana for any random vehicle numbers which either does not exist or that of non-transport vehicles i.e. bike, car etc”.

It was claimed in the court that a daybook was maintained at the syndicate office, wherein income (in cash) generated from the sale of mineral and the expenditure were recorded daily. Every month, a meeting would be held at the guest house of Dilbagh Singh, located in Yamunanagar, where all the syndicate's beneficiaries would receive their share, it was added.

Counsel for Panwar argued that the prosecution complaint did not disclose any prima facie material, whether documentary, circumstantial, or testimonial, demonstrating that Panwar had been in possession, or was in any manner involved in the concealment, layering, placement, integration, or use of any “proceeds of crime”.

Properties worth Rs 121.70 crore, allegedly acquired from the proceeds of the crime, have been attached in the case.