Chandigarh. The Jalandhar zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Pathankot, Kuldeep Singh. He is accused of illegally transferring 91.75 acres of 'shared land' (collective village land) in the border district and subsequently carrying out illegal mining activities there.
This arrest is considered an important turning point in the investigation of money laundering. This investigation is related to the case of transfer of 734 Kanal and one Marla 'Shamlat' land in the name of private persons in Bhatian village under Gol Gram Panchayat of Pathankot district of Punjab.
This matter is of February 27, 2023. At that time, Kuldeep Singh was posted as District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) and also had the additional charge of ADC (Development). It is alleged that just a day before his retirement from government service, he had passed orders in favor of private persons in a pending land dispute.
After this, the State Vigilance Bureau registered an FIR against Kuldeep Singh and other accused. It was alleged that huge irregularities were committed in the transfer of this valuable Panchayat land. This land is located on the banks of the Ravi River and near the international border with Pakistan. It is believed that this land has abundant reserves of sand and other minerals.
ED started money laundering investigation on the basis of Vigilance Bureau's FIR. Later, expanding the scope of this investigation, illegal mining and transportation of sand and river bed material from the disputed land was also investigated.
In July 2026, ED raided 16 places related to this case. During this action, the agency seized cash worth Rs 1.75 crore and froze bank accounts containing approximately Rs 91.34 lakh. Apart from this, many important documents related to illegal mining activities were also recovered.
The search operations covered locations associated with stone-crushing firms, including 'Sri Sai Stone Crusher and Screener' and 'Shiv Shankar Stone Crusher' as well as other units associated with them and people associated with their management.
The investigation has also focused on financial transactions between mining operators and persons involved in the transfer of the disputed land. A recent report states that a total of Rs 20.70 lakh has been paid to the wife of a retired officer from accounts linked to a stone-crushing firm.