Punjab Multi-Crore Land Scam: ED Scrutinizes IAS Officers Anurag Verma and Kanwal Preet Brar Over Suntec City Approvals
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has widened its investigation into an alleged multi-crore land and real estate scam in Punjab, bringing the administrative decisions of two senior IAS officers under scrutiny. Former Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma and 2007-batch IAS officer Kanwal Preet Brar are being examined in connection with approvals, land-use permissions and subsequent changes linked to major real estate projects in the Mohali region.
At the centre of the investigation are official files concerning Suntec City and Altus Space Builders projects, along with questions surrounding Change of Land Use (CLU) permissions and modifications to approved layouts. The broader money laundering investigation has estimated proceeds of crime at around ₹348 crore, putting the case among the more significant financial investigations involving the state’s real estate sector.
Forged Signatures Put Land Approvals Under Scanner
The case goes back to developments that allegedly took place in 2020, when several agricultural landowners from Palheri village in Mohali raised serious objections to the use of their land-related documents. According to the allegations being investigated, the names, signatures and thumb impressions of landowners were forged on consent documents that were subsequently used for obtaining CLU permissions for approximately 108.58 acres of land.
The alleged forgery was not merely a dispute between landowners and developers. It became a matter of administrative concern because the documents were reportedly used in the process of securing regulatory permissions for large-scale real estate development, raising questions about how the paperwork was verified before approvals were granted.
An initial police inquiry eventually led to the registration of an FIR at the Mullanpur police station in November 2022. The case named office-bearers of the Indian Cooperative Housing Building Society Ltd, after allegations surfaced that forged documents had been used in the land-use approval process.
The ED subsequently took up the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), moving beyond the alleged document forgery to examine the financial transactions and the possible generation and movement of proceeds of crime.
ED Raids and Arrest of Real Estate Promoter
As the investigation progressed, the central agency conducted searches at multiple locations and arrested real estate promoter Ajay Sehgal. The ED’s investigation has sought to establish how land transactions, development approvals and financial dealings may have been connected.
The agency has also examined the larger network surrounding the projects and the people involved in various stages of the transactions. In July 2026, the ED submitted a detailed prosecution complaint running into around 3,500 pages before the special PMLA court in Mohali, marking a significant step in the money laundering proceedings.
The filing indicates the scale and complexity of the investigation. Rather than being limited to a single disputed land transaction, investigators are examining a chain of transactions and administrative decisions to determine whether allegedly illegal gains were generated, transferred or used through real estate ventures.
Why IAS Officers Are Under ED Scrutiny
The investigation has now turned towards the administrative side of the approvals. The ED is examining official records to understand how CLU permissions and subsequent layout changes were processed, particularly when objections and complaints from local landowners were already on record.
The questioning of senior bureaucrats does not, by itself, mean that they have been accused of committing a crime. Investigators are seeking to establish the circumstances in which various decisions were taken, who approved them, what documents were available to officials at the time and whether established procedures were followed.
That distinction is important in an investigation of this nature. Administrative scrutiny, questioning or the issuance of summons does not automatically establish criminal liability.
Kanwal Preet Brar Questioned Over Project Changes
Kanwal Preet Brar, a 2007-batch Punjab-cadre IAS officer, has emerged as one of the officials whose role is being examined closely. Brar was serving as Director of Town and Country Planning (TCP) during an important period in the development and modification of the projects under investigation.
According to the allegations being examined by the ED, investigators have questioned Brar several times at the agency’s zonal office in Jalandhar. The questioning has focused on decisions involving partial revocation of CLU permissions and changes to project layouts.
One of the key issues before investigators is why such changes were permitted despite complaints from villagers claiming that their consent documents had been forged. The ED is understood to have sought a detailed written explanation from the officer regarding the administrative reasoning behind these decisions.
Investigators are particularly interested in reconstructing the sequence of events. They are looking at when complaints were received, what action was taken after those complaints, which officials examined the documents and how subsequent approvals or modifications were processed.
Anurag Verma’s Role Also Being Examined
Former Punjab Chief Secretary Anurag Verma is another senior bureaucrat whose administrative role has come under the ED’s lens. A 1993-batch IAS officer, Verma had been heading the Housing and Urban Development Department during the period when several crucial permissions connected with the projects were processed.
Verma is currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary, Revenue, in Punjab. The ED had summoned him to appear before the agency on August 31, 2026, in connection with the investigation, but he sought an adjournment.
Fresh summons are expected to follow, with investigators likely to seek clarification on the decision-making process surrounding the relevant permissions and files. The agency’s focus is expected to remain on the documentary trail rather than simply on the identities of officials who held particular posts.
Muirwoods Ecocity Transactions Also Under Examination
The investigation is not restricted to Suntec City and Altus Space Builders. ED officials are also examining transactions involving group housing plots in the Muirwoods Ecocity mega-project.
One of the issues being looked into concerns the subsequent transfer of group housing plots to private construction entities after earlier applications seeking their transfer to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) had reportedly been rejected.
Investigators are trying to determine whether changes made after the initial decisions created financial or commercial advantages for private developers. The agency is examining whether such administrative modifications were supported by proper rules and documentation or whether they resulted in benefits that would otherwise not have been available.
What the ED Is Trying to Establish
At the heart of the investigation is the question of whether alleged forgery and questionable financial transactions were accompanied by irregularities in the administrative approval process. Officials are examining the authenticity of landowner consent documents, the verification procedures followed by government departments and the manner in which complaints were handled.
Another major area of inquiry is the timeline of the CLU approvals and subsequent revisions. Investigators want to establish whether officials were aware of objections from landowners when decisions were taken and, if so, what steps were taken in response.
The financial angle is equally important. The ED is attempting to trace the alleged proceeds of crime estimated at around ₹348 crore and compare the money trail with the relevant land transactions, development arrangements and official approvals.
This means investigators are effectively putting two trails side by side – the administrative trail and the financial trail. The objective is to see whether they intersect at critical points and whether government decisions coincided with transactions that allegedly benefited private parties.
A Case That Could Have Wider Implications
The Punjab land scam investigation has attracted attention because it brings together three sensitive areas – land ownership, large-scale real estate development and government regulatory approvals. Mohali has witnessed rapid urban and commercial expansion over the years, making land-use permissions and development controls particularly important for both landowners and builders.
For the ED, establishing a money laundering offence will require more than identifying questionable paperwork. The agency will have to establish the underlying criminal activity, trace the alleged proceeds of crime and demonstrate how those proceeds were dealt with or projected as legitimate assets.
For the senior IAS officers being examined, the immediate issue is their role in the administrative chain. The ED’s questioning is aimed at understanding how decisions were reached and whether procedures were properly followed when permissions and modifications were granted.
The investigation is still underway, and the legal position of the individuals involved will depend on the evidence ultimately presented before the court. For now, the scrutiny of senior bureaucrats represents another important stage in an investigation that has expanded from alleged forged landowner consent documents to a much broader examination of real estate transactions, government approvals and a suspected ₹348-crore proceeds-of-crime trail.
