Phagwara, August 20: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at the Phagwara-based premises of senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Jarnail Singh Wahid, officials said.
Raids were conducted at a sugar mill, Wahid’s residence, and a gym owned by his family, according to sources. The sugar mill, earlier co-owned by Wahid and his NRI partner Sukhbir S. Sandal, is now operated by Rana Sugar Mills, which is linked to Sultanpur Lodhi MLA Rana Inder Partap Singh.
The ED action stems from a Vigilance Bureau (VB) case registered against Wahid and his family in 2023, which accused them of selling government land belonging to the sugar mill. Wahid, his wife Rupinder Kaur, and son Sandeep Singh were arrested by the VB at the time. An FIR was lodged under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 166 and 176 of the Indian Penal Code, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Wahid’s name has surfaced in controversies for more than two decades. In 2003, he came under the ED scanner in a case of alleged money laundering through hawala transactions involving his NRI partner Sandal’s investment in the sugar mill. The agency examined their financial dealings and summoned Wahid in 2015 while he was serving as Markfed Chairperson.
Earlier, in 2002, Wahid was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau while serving as a member of the Punjab Staff Selection Board (SSB). He, along with other board members, faced allegations of irregular appointments during the SAD government between 1998 and 2002. He was later acquitted by a Mohali court in 2010.
As of Wednesday evening, ED officials had not disclosed the outcome of the searches, but the case adds to Wahid’s long record of legal troubles spanning his political career.
