‘BJP Misusing Agencies to Harass Hindu Traders,’ says CM Mann

June

2026

Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on 9 Jun slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Indian union government for ‘harassing Hindu traders’ after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids in a money laundering probe involving former state minister Sanjeev Arora. On 8 Jun, the ED conducted fresh searches in a money laundering investigation involving Arora and associates in an alleged USD 10.6M Goods and Service Tax (GST) fraud case linked to the sale of mobile phones. ED carried out raids at the residences and offices of Jalandhar-based Amit Bajaj, a contractor with the Panjab Local Government Department, and his brother Inderjit Bajaj, a chartered accountant. Amit, a well-connected trader, enjoyed proximity with top political leaders across party lines and was seen attending official events of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Jalandhar. Garg, a close associate of Sanjeev Arora and his partner Hemant Sood, was arrested by the central GST department in connection with an alleged bogus billing racket involving transactions worth around USD 27M in November 2020. The ED stated, ‘The action is part of an ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The raids covered both residences and business offices connected with individuals and entities under investigation in the case of Hampton Sky Realty Ltd, a company linked to Arora.’ Responding to Mann, the BJP defended the ED raids across Panjab and accused the ruling AAP of attempting to communalize the enforcement action by projecting it as a crackdown on Hindu traders. Additionally, AAP Jalandhar (Central) Member of Legislative Assembly Raman Arora and Indian National Congress leader Kushaldeep Singh alias Kikki Dhillon appeared before the ED for the second time on 11 Jun. Both leaders had earlier also appeared before the ED in cases of suspected violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Additionally, a 2012-batch Panjab Civil Services officer Anupreet Kaur was arrested by the Tarn Taran Police on 16 May. Anupreet is accused of siphoning off USD 172K in public money during a land acquisition drive for a national highway project and has been battling embezzlement and forgery allegations for the last six years. Kaur was posted in Patti, Tarn Taran district, at the time of the alleged irregularities (earlier coverage).