Surender Panwar, Congress MLA from Sonipat, arrested in illegal mining case

Surender Panwar, Congress MLA from Haryana’s Sonipat, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an illegal mining case.

Panwar was arrested from office in Ambala, sources said.

He would now be taken on remand at a special court in Ambala.

The arrest was made in relation to a case involving large-scale illegal mining of sand, boulders, and gravels in Yamuna Nagar and adjacent districts of Haryana, allegedly involving Dilbag Singh (ex-MLA) and Panwar, along with their associates.

The investigation in the illegal mining case involving Panwar was taken over by the Enforcement Directorate last year, when the Haryana Police had registered several First Information Reports (FIR)s against him and others.

In January this year, the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at 20 locations across Faridabad, Sonipat, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Chandigarh, and Mohali.

The investigation uncovered illegal excavation and sale of minerals by various screening plant owners and stone crushers in Yamunanagar district.

This involved evasion tactics such as not generating proper e-Rawana bills or producing fake physical copies to avoid detection.

During the search operations, the Enforcement Directorate seized Rs 5.29 crore in cash, gold valued at Rs 1.89 crore, two vehicles, electronic devices, investment-related documents (both domestic and foreign), and other incriminating documents.

Additionally, illegal firearms, ammunition, and excess liquor were also recovered from the premises.