Raipur, Dec 29: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted searches at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in land acquisition compensation for the Bharatmala project road corridor between Raipur and Visakhapatnam, official sources said.
ED teams carried out raid and seizure operations at nine premises in Raipur and neighbouring Mahasamund district under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The searches covered premises linked to land broker Harmeet Singh Khanuja, his associates, certain government officials and landowners, the sources added.
The probe relates to alleged irregularities in the payment of compensation for land acquired for the Raipur–Visakhapatnam economic corridor, part of the centrally funded Bharatmala Pariyojana, which aims to develop about 26,000 km of economic corridors across the country to boost road freight movement.
The ED case is based on investigations conducted by the Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which earlier registered an FIR and arrested several accused in the matter. According to the EOW, at least ₹32 crore was allegedly embezzled during land acquisition for the project between 2020 and 2024, while the Opposition Congress has claimed the scam could be worth over ₹350 crore.
In April this year, the ACB/EOW had conducted raids at around 20 locations across the state. Subsequently, land broker Uma Tiwari and her husband Kedar Tiwari were arrested for allegedly illegally receiving ₹2 crore in compensation meant for another person. Harmeet Singh Khanuja was later arrested for allegedly facilitating the illegal diversion of compensation funds and siphoning off money meant for several farmers.
In October, the state agency filed its first chargesheet against 10 accused for allegedly embezzling ₹32 crore in compensation payments. Those chargesheeted include two revenue officials—Gopal Ram Verma (retired) and Narendra Kumar Nayak—and eight brokers, including Uma Tiwari, Kedar Tiwari and Harmeet Singh Khanuja.
Explaining the modus operandi, EOW officials had earlier said forged and backdated documents were created to manipulate land ownership records, resulting in excess compensation payouts. In some cases, compensation was paid for land already acquired by the government, while in others, forged papers were used to show illegal transfers of land to specific beneficiaries.
The issue was also raised in the Chhattisgarh Assembly in March, with Opposition Congress MLAs demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged scam.
The ED said the searches are continuing as part of its investigation into the alleged laundering of proceeds generated from the compensation irregularities under the Bharatmala project.
