ED searches former Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora’s Hoshiarpur residence

• ED officials searched former Punjab minister Sunder Sham Arora’s Hoshiarpur residence early on Monday, accompanied by CRPF personnel.

• The agency had not officially disclosed the case or the reason for the searches.

• Arora has previously faced Income Tax searches and a Punjab Vigilance Bureau case involving an accusation of attempted bribery.

The Enforcement Directorate searched the residence of senior Congress leader and former Punjab Cabinet minister Sunder Sham Arora in Hoshiarpur on Monday morning. The agency had not immediately announced the reason for the operation.

According to preliminary information, officials arrived at the former minister’s home at around 5 am in three to four vehicles, accompanied by Central Reserve Police Force personnel.

Arora, a former Hoshiarpur MLA, was reportedly present inside the house as the searches continued. There was no immediate official confirmation of the case being investigated or details of any material recovered.

The operation follows earlier searches involving Arora by the Income Tax Department and the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in separate matters. No connection between those proceedings and Monday’s ED action had been officially established.

In January this year, Income Tax officials searched his residence on Jodhamal Road in Hoshiarpur. That exercise lasted approximately 62 hours and involved scrutiny of documents and questioning of the former minister.

Arora subsequently held a press conference at which he clarified that the January searches had been conducted by the Income Tax Department, rather than the ED.

In a separate case, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested Arora on accusations that he had offered a vigilance official a bribe of Rs 50 lakh. The matter remains pending before a court.

The ED had yet to issue a statement outlining the grounds for Monday’s searches or their findings.

With IANS inputs