On Saturday, July 20, Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Congress MLA Surender Panwar in an illegal mining case. Panwar is the MLA from Sonepat seat in the state of Haryana. Earlier in January this year, ED had searched premises linked to Surender Panwar and his aides.
The arrest of the Congress MLA is in connection with a money-laundering case linked to illegal mining in Yamunanagar in Haryana and some other areas of the state. The money laundering case investigation came following several FIRs of the Haryana Police to probe alleged illegal mining of boulders, gravel and sand in the past in Yamunanagar and nearby districts even after the lease expiry period and court’s order.
Along with investigating potential fraud in illegal mining, ED is also looking into the ‘e-ravan’ system, an online site introduced by the Haryana government in 2020 with the goal of streamlining tax and royalties collection and preventing tax evasion in mining regions, as per a PTI report.
Notably, Surender Panwar resigned from his position and sent it to Haryana assembly speaker in July 2022, claiming personal reasons such as dangers to his family’s safety and well-being. However, later he withdrew the resignation.
