Summoned Again After Earlier Interrogation
IAS officer Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) again for questioning, days after she was previously questioned by the agency for several hours.
According to the information available, the ED had conducted a lengthy round of questioning with the officer earlier. Following the previous session, she was summoned again to appear before the agency.
Reaches ED Office Before 10 AM
Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar reached the ED office before 10 am and reportedly arrived ahead of the ED officials. Her latest appearance comes as part of the agency's ongoing questioning in the matter.
The reason and scope of the latest questioning have not been disclosed in the information available. Further details are awaited as the ED proceedings continue.
Brar had been summoned by the central agency on Monday and was asked to appear for questioning on August 18 and the questioning is linked to the ED’s investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding the ‘Sunteck City’ project in Palheri village, Mohali.
The case involves allegations that consent documents belonging to farmers were fabricated to facilitate the change of land use for the project and the matter first came under scrutiny following a complaint filed by Karamjit Singh, a landowner from Palheri village, in 2020.
According to the complaint, consent letters related to 53 kanals of Singh’s land were allegedly fabricated, similar allegations were made regarding land measuring around 30.5 acres belonging to 14 other farmers. The documents were allegedly prepared using forged signatures and thumb impressions of the landowners.
Following the complaint, the matter was investigated by the police and the then SP (Investigation) of Mohali, Harmandeep Hans, submitted an investigation report in which allegations of forgery, fraud and criminal conspiracy were raised.
Based on the police investigation, an FIR was registered at Mullanpur police station in November 2022 and the police case later became the basis for the ED’s money laundering investigation.
The latest development concerns IAS officer Kanwalpreet Brar’s appearance before the ED and her questioning is understood to be related to the approval process and administrative procedures connected with the project, particularly the CLU process.
Change of Land Use, or CLU, refers to the official process through which land use is changed from one permitted category to another, such as agricultural land being approved for a different purpose. Such approvals are subject to government rules and procedures.
The ED is investigating the money laundering angle arising from the alleged irregularities, Brar’s appearance before the agency does not by itself establish any wrongdoing on her part.
