Ex-Cong MLA Chhoker arrested in Rs 1,500-cr money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker from a five-star hotel in Delhi late on Sunday night in connection with a Rs 1,500-crore money laundering case.

Sources said ED officials, acting on a tip-off, located Chhoker in the bar of the hotel. “He was taken into custody after a brief scuffle,” a source said.

Chhoker, a two-time MLA from Samalkha and a known associate of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had been on the run along with his son Vikas Chhoker. The ED had been searching for both in connection with fraudulent financial dealings linked to their real estate firm, Mahira Group.

The former MLA’s younger son, Sikander Chhoker, was arrested in April last year. He is a director in the Mahira Group, which is at the centre of the investigation.

The ED launched its probe following multiple FIRs registered by the Gurugram police in 2023. Investigations revealed that Mahira Group, run by Chhoker and his sons, collected approximately Rs 363 crore from over 1,500 homebuyers under an affordable housing scheme in Sector 68, Gurugram. The project was never completed, despite promises of delivery by 2021-22.

Frustrated homebuyers had staged protests and sit-ins, demanding action against the company. The ED found that the group’s directors allegedly siphoned off the money by booking fake construction expenses and receiving kickbacks in cash from entities issuing bogus bills.

In July 2023, the ED seized properties, vehicles, offices, cash, and jewellery worth several crores linked to the Mahira Group.

Chhoker entered politics with the Haryana Janhit Congress in 2009, later joining the Congress. He contested the 2024 Assembly elections from Samalkha but lost. Shortly after, the ED raided his home, but he evaded arrest — until now.

Law will take its course: Kiran Choudhry

Jhajjar: Reacting to the arrest of former Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker by the Enforcement Directorate, Rajya Sabha MP and former minister Kiran Choudhry said, “Everyone knows what he has done. The law has a long reach, and it will take its course.”

She was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a blood donation camp held in Jhajjar to mark the birthday of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

When asked about the Congress’ support for the Haryana Government’s stance in the ongoing water dispute with Punjab, she responded with a hint of sarcasm, saying, it was good that the Congress had “finally come to its senses” on the issue. —TNS