ED Raids Punjab Officials in ₹137 Crore Guava Orchard Scam
The Punjab government has been rocked by a ₹137 crore scam involving fake guava orchards. Individuals, in collusion with government officials from the horticulture, revenue, and land departments, purchased land and hastily planted guava trees just before it was acquired for development. They then submitted inflated claims for compensation as established orchards, defrauding the government of a significant sum.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) is investigating the case and has arrested a horticulture development officer, Jaspreet Singh Sidhu. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also joined the investigation, conducting raids at 20 locations across the state. This includes the residences of Varun Roojam, the Excise Commissioner, and Rajesh Dhiman, the Deputy Commissioner of Ferozepur. Incriminating documents were reportedly found near Roojam’s house during the raid.
Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Bakarpur village, is considered the main culprit. He allegedly claimed a staggering ₹23.79 crore in compensation for himself and his family. The wife of Rajesh Dhiman also received a suspicious compensation of ₹1.17 crore. Other beneficiaries include Mukesh Jindal who claimed ₹13.93 crore and chartered accountant Anil Arora who received ₹1.14 crore.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the accused beneficiaries to deposit a total of ₹72.36 crore, partially recouping the stolen funds. As of January this year, only ₹43.72 crore has been recovered. The investigation is ongoing, and further arrests and recoveries are expected.
