ED searches ex-Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora's premises in alleged assets case
The ED searched 14 locations in Punjab and Chandigarh linked to former industries minister Sunder Sham Arora, alleging undue favours to builders over PSIEC industrial plots.
Key points
- The ED's Jalandhar office searched 14 locations in Punjab and Chandigarh on 2 and 3 November 2026 under the PMLA.
- The ED alleges favours to private builders in transfers of PSIEC industrial plots, including one sold for Rs 90.56 crore at auction in 2020.
- The case rests on a Vigilance Bureau disproportionate-assets FIR; these are allegations and the ED says its investigation continues.
Sunder Sham Arora, former Minister of Industries and Commerce, Punjab, is the subject of searches by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at 14 locations in Punjab and Chandigarh on 2 and 3 November 2026 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED alleges that, as minister, he extended undue favours to private real estate players over high-value industrial plots of the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC).
What Happened
The ED's Jalandhar Zonal Office searched his home at Hoshiarpur, M/s Shivam Hospital in Hoshiarpur, and premises linked to M/s SRG Builders and Promoters Pvt Ltd, M/s GRG Developers and Promoters LLP and M/s Gulmohar Township India Pvt Ltd in Chandigarh and Mohali. It seized phones, documents, property papers and PSIEC plot records, and froze bank lockers.
The ED's case rests on an FIR by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau under the Prevention of Corruption Act for amassing assets disproportionate to known income. According to the ED, he was arrested on 15 October 2022 at Zirakpur while allegedly handing over Rs 50 lakh in cash as an advance on a Rs 1 crore bribe offered to a senior Vigilance Bureau officer to settle enquiries against him.
The ED alleges that during his tenure from March 2017 to September 2021, when he controlled PSIEC, he acquired stakes in real estate firms in his son's name in return for favours. It says a Mohali industrial plot was transferred to GRG Developers for Rs 90.56 crore through an auction in February 2020, that PSIEC was entitled to 50% of the sale value as unearned increase but these dues were never fully paid, and that the plot was subdivided and sold before approvals from PSIEC and RERA. The ED alleges his son took a 35% stake in SRG Builders in September 2020. It also alleges Gulmohar Township paid Rs 27.5 crore for another plot before the agreement to sell, without PSIEC's mandatory no-objection certificate.
These are allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and due process continues.
What It Means
A search is a step in an investigation, not a finding. The ED said further investigation is under way. Anyone asked for a bribe by an official can report it to the state anti-corruption bureau; Oquilia's guide lists every state's helpline at https://www.oquilia.com/report-a-bribe.
This report describes enforcement actions and allegations on the public record, attributed to the officials cited. An order, FIR or chargesheet is not a conviction; parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Named in this report, or spotted an error? Corrections and responses: editor@oquilia.com. We correct errors promptly and record responses from named parties.
Sources & Citations
- Enforcement Directorate press release — Enforcement Directorate