Bharatmala project scam

 

 

 

THE Enforcement Directorate Raipur Zonal Office (EDRPZO) on Monday carried out an extensive search and seizure operation at nine locations across the State Capital and Mahasamund, intensifying the probe into alleged irregularities in land compensation linked to the R a i p u r - V i s a k h a p a t n a m Economic Corridor under the Bharatmala project.

 

Acting through its Raipur Zonal Office, the ED deployed seven separate teams that launched coordinated raids in the early hours, marking a significant escalation in the multi-crore investigation. EDRPZO officials were escorted by armed troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at all locations to ensure that the operations proceeded without resistance or disruption. In Raipur, ED teams conducted searches at the La Vista Society residence of Harmeet Singh Khanuja, one of the key private accused named in the Bharatmala land compensation fraud.

 

Officials were seen examining documents and digital devices at the premises, where scrutiny continued for several hours amid tight security cover. Sources confirmed that the searches in the capital and adjoining areas are directly linked to suspected manipulation of land records and wrongful compensation claims arising from acquisition for the economic corridor.

 

The search and seizure operations come days after the ED-RPZO discreetly registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Officials confirmed that the ECIR is founded on predicate offences recorded by the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) in Crime No. 30 of 2025 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code along with Section 7(c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

 

The underlying FIR details a systematic scheme wherein government-acquired lands were falsely projected as private holdings, enabling ineligible beneficiaries to claim compensation. Investigators have also flagged instances in which land parcels were deceitfully split into subplots to inflate payouts. According to official sources, ED teams are scrutinising a substantial volume of records and analysing seized electronic equipment to reconstruct transaction trails linked to the alleged fraud.

 

The searches cover premises associated with Khanuja, his associates, beneficiary landowners and officials involved in processing acquisition and compensation files. In Mahasamund district, ED action focused on the Basant Colony residence of businessman Jasbir Singh Bagga. Sources said two vehicles carrying ED officers reached the premises early in the morning and remained stationed there while property papers, financial records and digital data were examined.

 

Bagga is understood to be the owner of a Honda automobile showroom in the district. The Mahasamund searches form part of a broader effort to trace financial linkages and beneficiary networks connected to the compensation payments. The present phase of central agency action follows months of sustained investigation by the SEOIACB, which has described the alleged fraud as an entrenched conspiracy involving revenue officials, private agents and fictitious beneficiaries.

 

The issue first surfaced prominently in April, when the Chhattisgarh Government ordered a statewide administrative probe into land acquisitions executed since January 1, 2019, after irregularities were detected in Abhanpur block of Raipur district. Divisional commissioners across 11 districts were directed to examine acquisition cases and report anomalies relating to mutation, succession and valuation.

 

On April 26, SEOIACB arrested four accused, including Uma Tiwari, Kedar Tiwari, Harmeet Singh Khanuja and trader Vijay Jain, for allegedly siphoning off compensation exceeding Rs 2 crore. The investigation later culminated in the filing of a 7,500-page chargesheet in October, pegging the total loss to the State exchequer at nearly Rs 32 crore across multiple interlinked cases. Anticipatory bailpleas of several accused revenue officials were subsequently dismissed by the Chhattisgarh High Court.

 

The controversy had earlier drawn national attention after Leader of Opposition Dr Charandas Mahant flagged the alleged scam before the Prime Minister’s Office, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe. With the ED now actively pursuing money laundering proceedings alongside the ongoing corruption investigation, the Bharatmala land compensation case has entered a critical stage. The ED officials remained unavailable to share the findings of seizure related to cash and kind during the search operations, which were under way till filling of the report.