The Enforcement Directorate’s search and surveillance operation at the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) office in Mohali ended around 11:30 am on Thursday after continuing for nearly 50 hours. The operation, which began on Tuesday, was part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation into alleged irregularities involving land acquisition, change-of-land-use permissions, property transactions and dealings with private developers.
According to sources, the ED team left the GMADA office carrying more than 30 bags of seized documents and hard discs containing scanned records. The agency is reportedly believed to have collected what sources described as “substantial material” for its ongoing investigation.
The ED’s operation also drew a political response outside the GMADA office. Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers gathered at the site and raised slogans against the BJP. Amid the protest, the ED team was escorted out of the GMADA premises by a police team, which accompanied them up to the Chandigarh border. AAP has alleged that the searches amount to political pressure ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections; that is the party’s allegation, not an established finding of the ED.
The search at GMADA was part of a wider multi-location operation. Earlier reports said the ED was examining records concerning land acquisitions, CLU approvals, property auctions and alleged benefits extended to private realtors. The agency also searched other locations, including the residence of AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in Chandigarh and the residence of a relative of Punjab Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian.
Meanwhile, no GMADA official has been taken into custody by the ED, according to sources. Senior GMADA officials, including Housing Secretary Vikas Garg, have returned to work. Sources further said that officials could be summoned by the agency in the coming days based on the records seized during the operation.
The development also comes after the Punjab Government approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the ED operation. The High Court appointed a warrant officer to monitor the search-and-seizure operation and submit a status report. The warrant officer visited the GMADA office early Thursday morning and met the ED officers conducting the operation.
The ED investigation remains ongoing, and the seizure of records does not by itself establish wrongdoing by any individual or organisation. Further action will depend on the agency’s investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings.
Sources further indicated that the ED could summon GMADA officials in the coming days based on the documents, scanned records and other digital material seized during the operation.
The conclusion of the search at the GMADA office does not mark the end of the investigation, with the agency now expected to examine the seized material and determine the next course of action.