Haryana Congress MLA directed by SC to join probe: ED

NEW DELHI: Haryana Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chokker has been directed by the Supreme Court to join the probe in a money laundering case in which one of his sons has been arrested and the other is "absconding", the Enforcement Directorate said on Thursday.Sikandar Singh Chokker was arrested by the federal probe agency from Haridwar in Uttarakhand on April 30. His brother Vikas Chokker is "absconding".

Following his arrest, Sikandar Singh was brought to Haryana's Gurugram where a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court sent him to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till May 6.

He was "absconding" for the last four months and a court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him, the agency said in a statement.

The money laundering case against the Chokkers and entities linked to them stems from multiple FIRs of the Gurugram Police that had booked Dharam Singh, 60, who represents Samalkha in the Haryana assembly, Sikandar Singh, and a company named Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd. and its associate concerns on charges of cheating and forgery.

Under an affordable housing scheme, the company had collected Rs 363 crore from 1,497 buyers on the promise of providing them houses at Sector 68 in Gurugram but it failed to deliver and missed multiple deadlines, the ED said.

The agency said that Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd's promoters "diverted" the home buyers' money to associate concerns of the Mahira Group. Sikandar Singh is promoter, director and shareholder of various companies of the group, it said.

The ED said the Supreme Court recently directed Dharam Singh to join the investigation in the case. Vikas Chokker is still "absconding", it added.

The agency said its probe found that Sai Aaina Farms Pvt. Ltd's promoters siphoned off home buyers' money by booking "fake" construction expenditure in group entities. The cash generated from the fake purchases was used for personal gains, it said.

"The directors/promoters also diverted home buyers money to other group entities as loans (outstanding for years) which was used for buying expensive luxury cars, benami properties, expensive wedding of daughter, purchasing personal jewellery and withdrawing cash," the ED said.

The agency had conducted searches against the MLA and other accused in the case in July last year, and has attached assets worth Rs 36.5 crore till now.