ED nabs mastermind in Himachal illegal mining money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday said it has arrested the alleged mastermind of illegal mining in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh under the anti-money laundering law.

Lakhwinder Singh was taken into custody on September 26 under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

He was produced before a special court in Dharamshala on Tuesday and sent to five days in ED custody, the federal agency said in a statement.

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"Lakhwinder Singh is the key person who owns and controls several mining leases/sites and stone crushers in Una district of Himachal Pradesh and is the mastermind and prime beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated from illegal mining," the ED said.

"Singh resorted to withholding relevant information and was misleading the investigation," the ED alleged.

The agency had recently carried out raids in this case against stone crushers owned by Lakhwinder Singh, Manav Khanna, Neeraj Prabhakar, Vishal alias Vicky and others at Una and in Mohali (Punjab) and Panchkula (Haryana) in connection with illegal mining in the Swan river of the said district, the agency said.

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It had said that illegal mining worth Rs 35 crore has been carried out by the accused and certain linked stone crushers and other entities in Una.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the Una Police last year.

"To physically ascertain the extent of illegal mining, a joint digital survey along with state mining officials has been carried out at the mining sites owned and controlled by the persons involved which revealed about 4.8 lakh cubic meter of excess mining had been carried out," the agency alleged.