Punjab ex-minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot’s ED remand extended

Mohali, January 19

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A special court today extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of Punjab former Forest Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot by two days in a probe linked to the alleged forest scam.

Dharamsot, 64, was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Jalandhar on January 15. The ED probe is in relation to alleged irregularities committed in the Forest Department during his tenure as minister and for allegedly acquiring financial gains and projecting the same as untainted for various assets. The ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by the Vigilance Bureau under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The ED investigation revealed that the then Forest Minister took bribes against issuance of permit for felling of khair trees, transfers, issuance of NOCs and purchase of tree guards. The ED had stated: “It was found that proceeds of the crime were further infused in various assets and layered in various financial transactions.”