Charanjit Channi’s Nephew Arrested By Central Agency Ahead Of Punjab Polls

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew, Bhupendra Singh Honey, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an illegal sand-mining case. The probe agency took Honey into custody yesterday evening and will produce him in a CBI court today.

They said Honey was arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) late at night.

Last month, ED had seized ₹ 8 crore during a raid at premises belonging to Honey. The raids were made in connection with the illegal sand-mining operations in Punjab.

In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate had said “incriminating” documents related to the “illegal” sand mining and property transactions, mobile phones, gold worth more than ₹ 21 lakh, and a Rolex watch worth ₹ 12 lakh were also seized during the searches.

The arrest comes just days ahead of polling for the 117-member Punjab legislative assembly. Voting will be held on February 20, while the results will be out on March 10.