ED files plea to transfer case to special PMLA court in Jalandhar
HOSHIARPUR LAND SCAM Move came after spl PMLA judge issued arrest warrants against three Akali leaders and others
JALANDHAR :On the basis of cognisance taken by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, the enforcement directorate (ED) has moved an application with Ludhiana additional district and sessions court, where Punjab vigilance bureau had filed the closure report of the Hoshiarpur land scam case, to transfer it to district and sessions court and special PMLA court in Jalandhar.
The additional district and sessions judge, Amar Paul, has fixed the next hearing on October 3.
The move came after the special PMLA judge issued arrest warrants against three Akali leaders — councillor Harpinder Singh Gill, district co-operative bank chairman Satwinderpal Singh Dhatt and former market committee chairman Avtar Singh Johal — and local businessman Parteek Gupta, his partner Pardeep Gupta and one Jaswinderpal Singh.
The warrants were issued on the prosecution complaint filed by ED for October 9 to face trial for the offence under PMLA Sections 3 and 4.
On September 3, the Jalandhar court had stated that it has gone through statements recorded during investigation.
From the bare perusal of statements of the accused and other witnesses and also by going through documents relied upon the complainant, a prima facie case is made out against all accused under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, it said, and added that the offence is non-bailable.
On May 25, 2018, the vigilance bureau had constituted another special investigation team (SIT) headed by SSP Paramjit Singh Goraya, who in June 2019 contradicted previous findings and filed a closure report in a Ludhiana court while giving a clean chit to the accused, including three Akali Dal leaders, PCS officer Anand Sagar Sharma and others.