On 24 August, the Enforcement Directorate raided different locations at Ludhiana and Nawanshehr linked to former Congress Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and his close aides in connection to an alleged food scam under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Apart from Ashu, former Congress councillor Sunny Bhalla, former LIT chairman Raman Subramanium, Pankaj Meenu Malhotra and his Inderjit Indi, and many officers connected to the Food and Supplies Department came under ED’s radar.
As per reports, around 20 locations were raided by the ED in the morning. Paramilitary forces accompanied ED’s teams during the raids. Around 150 officials were involved in the raids at Ashu’s house at Kochar Market and other locations. Heavy police force was deployed at the former minister’s house, and the area was cordoned off to maintain law and order.
Ashu is a two-time former MLA from Ludhiana West. During Congress’s rule in the state, Ashu was the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister. ED conducted the raids based on a Punjab Vigilance Bureau FIR. He was arrested in a corruption and cheating case of multi-crore foodgrain transportation and labour cartage tender scam in August 2022. In March 2023, he was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Reportedly, the Vigilance Department has handed over possession of several documents linked to the alleged scam to the ED.