The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Jalandhar has provisionally attached immovable properties worth Rs. 12.31 crore belonging to former Naib Tehsildar Varinder Pal Singh, then Patwari Iqbal Singh, and several private property dealers involved in an illegal land allotment scam in Punjab’s Seonk village.
The ED’s action on March 24, 2025 comes after investigations revealed these officials and dealers had fraudulently allotted 102 acres of valuable shamlat (village common) land worth approximately Rs. 53 crore to ineligible villagers. The scam involved property dealers obtaining power of attorney from these fake allottees and then illegally selling the land to outside buyers in collusion with revenue officials.
The illicit proceeds were laundered through bank accounts of the power of attorney holders and cash transactions, with the money being used to purchase properties and for personal expenses by the accused. This latest attachment follows ED’s earlier action in June 2023 when it had seized residential properties worth Rs. 8.02 crore belonging to Varinder Pal Singh in Chandigarh and Hoshiarpur, which were later confirmed by the PMLA Adjudicating Authority in October 2023.
The case originated from an FIR registered by Punjab Vigilance Bureau under relevant sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, with ED taking over to investigate the money laundering aspects. Investigations are ongoing to uncover the full extent of this land scam and identify all involved parties and proceeds of crime.
