A dramatic scene unfolded at a residential society near Kharar in Punjab’s Mohali district on Thursday after bags allegedly filled with cash were thrown from a ninth floor flat during an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid linked to an alleged large scale land and housing fraud case.
The incident took place at Western Towers Society in Chajju Majra near Kharar where the ED was conducting a search operation at Flat No. 906 and according to sources as the central agency team reached the building bags allegedly containing large amounts of cash were thrown down from the apartment.
Residents of the society were shocked after bundles of Rs 500 notes were seen scattered across the ground floor area and eyewitnesses said one of the bags burst open after hitting the ground causing cash bundles to spread across the pavement inside the society premises and sources claimed the cash had been packed inside a red bag which was further placed inside a white bag before being thrown from the flat and despite the double layer packing one of the bags reportedly tore open due to the impact while the second bag however reportedly remained intact and taking advantage of the confusion a man who was allegedly waiting below in a white car quickly picked up the bag and fled from the spot and sources said the person is believed to be the driver of the resident staying in the flat.
Officials of the central agency reportedly chased the vehicle but the driver managed to escape and the bag taken away in the car has not yet been recovered meanwhile the agency seized the remaining bag from the scene and sources said the recovered bag contained around Rs 21 lakh in cash which was mostly in bundles of Rs 500 notes.
As news of the incident spread a large number of residents gathered inside the society premises creating chaos and videos and photographs of currency notes lying on the ground also began circulating rapidly on social media while police teams soon reached the society after receiving information about the incident and acting under the directions of Kharar DSP Ishant Singla a police team led by SHO Amrinder Singh of Kharar City Police Station arrived at the scene and began an investigation.
Police later restricted the entry of the general public into the tower where the raid was being carried out and security personnel remained deployed throughout the building including staircases and upper floors while officials continued the search operation for several hours and according to preliminary information the flat where the raid was conducted belongs to Nitin Kumar Gohil who is reportedly associated with the IT sector and society residents said he had shifted to the residential complex nearly four months ago and very little was known about him and residents also claimed that courier packages used to arrive at the flat almost daily and were usually received by his driver.
Sources further claimed that Nitin Gohil is being investigated over alleged financial irregularities and suspected political connections to some influential figures however no official confirmation has been made regarding these claims.
The raids are reportedly part of a wider crackdown conducted by the Enforcement Directorate at 12 locations across Mohali and Chandigarh and the searches are linked to alleged fraud in obtaining Change of Land Use (CLU) licences from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) while officials suspect that hundreds of crores were allegedly collected from the public through illegal practices connected to housing and real estate projects.
According to sources searches were conducted at locations linked to the Sunteck City project and its promoter Ajay Sehgal and raids were also carried out at premises connected to ABS Township, Altus Builders, Dhir Constructions and their associates and the ED is also investigating allegations that certain builders who had defaulted on GMADA payments received help and protection through political connections.
Apart from Mohali and Kharar searches were also conducted in Chandigarh including at a house in Sector 16 and another team reportedly searched premises linked to Bir Devinder Singh alias Biru in Mohali who is also said to have political links.
The operation reportedly extended to Patiala as well where searches were carried out at locations allegedly linked to individuals associated with a political party however officials have not yet officially confirmed the exact details of the case or the role of the people being investigated.
