On the 5th of May, the Enforcement Directorate officials arrested money laundering-accused former Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker from the Shangri-La Hotel in New Delhi as he was trying to escape. Chhoker is the former MLA from Samalkha assembly constituency in Haryana and is accused of defrauding 1500 home buyers and siphoning off ₹500 crore.
Once a prominent figure in Haryana politics and a close aide of Congress stalwart Bhupendra Singh Hooda, Chhoker has been evading the authorities for months. In October 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Enforcement Directorate to apprehend Dharam Singh Chhoker within 24 hours if he fails to surrender. However, the former Congress MLA could not be arrested. Chhoker’s arrest marks a prolonged pursuit in the high-profile money laundering case that sparked outrage in the state. Despite the corruption allegations, the Congress party gave him a ticket last year, although he lost the election.
ED acted on a tip-off to arrest Dharam Singh Chhoker
The Enforcement Directorate’s swift action against the former Congress MLA came after the probe agency received a tip-off at around 8:30 PM on 4th May 2025. The intel suggested that Chhoker, who had multiple non-bailable arrest warrants issued by the Special PMLA court and was declared a “proclaimed offender” by a Gurugram court, was at the Shangri La Hotel socialising with friends. Within minutes of the alert, Navaneet Agarwal, the Joint Director of the ED’s Gurugram Zonal Office, arrived at the hotel with his team. As the ED sleuths approached, Dharam Singh Chhoker sensed trouble and attempted to flee towards the hotel’s exit. However, the ED officers restrained him following a brief scuffle.
VIDEO | CCTV footage of Enforcement Directorate apprehending former Haryana Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 6, 2025
(Source: Third Party)#DharamSinghChhoker pic.twitter.com/ntg2OTkZi5
By around 9:30 PM, Chhoker was in ED’s custody, bringing an end to his months-long evasion of arrest. The accused will be produced before a Gurugram court.
The former Congress MLA and his web of fraud and money laundering
Dharam Singh Chhoker’s troubles began when a money laundering case was registered against him in 2023, wherein he was accused of involvement in alleged irregularities in real estate projects under the Deen Dayal Awas Yojana, a Haryana government housing scheme. Chhoker, his two sons, Vikas and Sikander, as well as their company, Sai Aaina Farms, are accused of defrauding more than 1500 homebuyers and siphoning off over ₹500 crore. Some estimates peg the scam at ₹1500 crore.
The accusations centre on the Chhoker family’s real estate ventures in Gurugram’s Sector 68, 103, and 104, where they allegedly collected over ₹616 crore from around 3,700 investors by promising affordable flats, plots and houses. However, the Chhokers never fulfilled their promises, leaving the buyers stranded.
The Enforcement Directorate stepped into the scene after multiple FIRs were filed by Gurugram Police against Dharam Singh Chhoker, his company, Sai Aaina and its associates. The ED investigation revealed that the Chhokers attached forged documents, including fake bank guarantees, to obtain licenses for development works. These fraudulent tactics allowed the former Congress MLA to amass huge wealth, which was then reportedly diverted for personal gains.
In March this year, the ED officials attached properties worth ₹44.55 crore belonging to the Chhoker family, including three acres of agricultural land, commercial and residential plots in Gurugram, Faridabad, Delhi and Panipat. Last year, assets worth ₹36 crore were seized by the ED.
The absconding period: Dharam Singh Chhoker was playing a game of cat and mouse with the ED
As ED began closing in on Chhoker in 2024, the former Congress MLA began evading the authorities. Despite multiple summons, he deliberately did not show up, prompting a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court to issue 7 non-bailable arrest warrants against Chhoker and his sons. While in April 2024, Sikander Chhoker was apprehended, Vikas is still at large. Last year, the ex-Congress MLA and his sons were declared “proclaimed offenders”, ordering them to appear by May 19, 2024. However, Dharam Chhoker managed to escape summons and arrest.
Dharam Singh Chhokar first won the Samalkha seat on a Haryana Janhit Congress ticket in 2009, before joining the Congress party. While Chhokar won the 2019 assembly polls, he faced defeat in the 2024 elections, with the money laundering case severely tarnishing Chhokar’s image.
Notably, Dharam Singh Chhoker’s son Sikander was arrested by the ED in March 2024 after he was traced in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar while absconding. He was granted bail eventually; however, as CCTV footage showing him roaming freely outside a hospital in Rohtak surfaced online, it was said that he was faking an illness to avoid jail time. The visuals showed Sikander using a Fortuner SUV, staying in hotels, and even campaigning for Congress for the state assembly elections, flouting judicial protocols. Amidst the outrage, he was sent back to the ED’s custody.
Playing a key role in tightening the noose around the former Congress MLA’s neck, just days ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in October 2024, ordered Chhoker to surrender by 2nd October or face arrest. This order came in response to a plea moved by social activist Virender Singh, who pointed out that despite being a wanted offender, Chhoker was openly campaigning for a re-election in Samalkha while contesting on a Congress ticket. While the Congress party giving a ticket to a scam-tainted leader is not shocking, the court had expressed frustration over the delays in arresting Chhoker. Noting his continued evasion, the court later in October 2024 ordered Dharam Singh Chhoker’s immediate arrest.
While the former Congress MLA managed to evade arrest for months, the Enforcement Directorate has finally nabbed him. Following his arrest, the proceedings in the money laundering case would expedite, giving a fresh hope to all the defrauded homebuyers that they will get justice.
