ED arrests cooperative society secretary in Punjab land fraud linked to Suntec City project

JALANDHAR: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jalandhar, has arrested Ajay Sehgal, Secretary of the Indian Cooperative House Building Society, in a money laundering case linked to the submission of forged consent letters used to fraudulently obtain Change of Land Use (CLU) permissions for the Suntec City real estate project from the Government of Punjab, officials said on Saturday.

The arrest was made on Friday following an investigation initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Punjab Police.

The complaint originated from farmers who alleged that their consent signatures had been forged to facilitate the CLU approvals.

According to the ED, investigation has revealed that Ajay Sehgal, acting through the cooperative housing society, prepared fake consent letters relating to 30.5 acres of land belonging to 15 landowners.

These allegedly forged documents were then used to secure CLU permission for developing a large-scale real estate project named 'Suntec City'.

Officials said the consent letters carried forged signatures and thumb impressions of landowners, which were used to obtain regulatory approvals for the project.

The ED further stated that earlier search operations were conducted on May 7 at eight locations linked to the Indian Cooperative House Building Society and ABS Township Private Limited.

During these searches, cash amounting to Rs 21 lakh was allegedly thrown from the balcony of a liaison businessman, identified as Nitin Gohel, which scattered on the road below before being recovered by ED officials.

The agency also found that apart from residential plots, Ajay Sehgal was involved in the development of La Canela residential multi-storey complex and District 7 commercial complex, both of which were built on the basis of CLU permissions allegedly obtained through forged consent documents.

According to the investigation, units in these projects were being sold even before obtaining proper registration and approval from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), with total sales exceeding Rs 200 crore from allegedly unauthorised transactions.