Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: "It is a conspiracy to defame me" says Channi on nephew's raid by ED

Talking about the ED raid on his nephew's residence Channi on Saturday said "It is a conspiracy to defame me. Eventually, nothing will come out of it. But they want to keep the pot boiling till February 20 (polling day). Otherwise, have you ever seen central agencies issuing press notes like this? The entire thing is political."

Bhupinder S Honey nephew of Punjab CM Channi has been sent to 14-day judicial custody in an illegal sand mining case. Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew Bhupendra Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. The arrest of Charanjit Singh Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey comes weeks after the Enforcement Directorate raided his homes and offices in connection with a 2018 illegal sand mining case. 

According to reports, the ED seized Rs 10 crore cash during raids conducted on January 19 in an anti-money laundering investigation against illegal sand mining operations in Punjab. The seizure reportedly included Rs 8 crore from the premises linked to Bhupinder Singh. After the raids, Channi had accused the BJP-led central government of hatching a “conspiracy” to “trap” him in the case ahead of Punjab elections 2022.

Meanwhile, the elections will be held to elect 117 members of the Legislative Assembly in Punjab. This year the main competition will be between two ruling parties  Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The Punjab election was going to be held on a single-phase on February 14 but now it changed to 20th February.