Gurugram: The Enforcement Directorate has conducted searches at properties linked to former Haryana minister and Haryana Lokhit Party leader Gopal Kanda as part of an investigation into an alleged ₹248.46-crore real estate fraud.
The searches were carried out at Kanda’s residence, farmhouse and office as investigators examined the suspected movement of funds connected with a real estate company under investigation.
According to officials cited in the reports, the ED’s Gurugram office is investigating four real estate projects involving Vatika Limited. The agency’s probe relates to allegations that investors were induced to put money into commercial projects on assurances including timely possession, assured returns, lease rentals and execution of sale deeds.
Officials said approximately ₹248.46 crore was collected from 661 investors in the projects, while possession or the promised sale deeds had allegedly not been delivered. The ED is examining the money trail to determine whether funds were diverted and subsequently transferred to companies associated with Kanda.
The searches represent an investigative action and do not by themselves establish criminal liability. The allegations remain subject to the investigation and any subsequent judicial proceedings.
Kanda’s lawyer, Arun Khatri, said he was attempting to ascertain the details of the ED case. The former legislator has been associated with Haryana politics for several years and previously served as the state’s home, industries and urban local bodies minister.
Kanda contested the 2024 Haryana Assembly election from Sirsa but lost the seat to Congress candidate Gokul Setia. He later remained active through the Haryana Lokhit Party, which he founded.
The latest ED action is not Kanda’s first encounter with the agency. He was also searched in August 2023 in connection with a separate money-laundering investigation.
The new investigation is significant because of the scale of the alleged real estate transactions and the number of investors involved. Real estate disputes in the National Capital Region have frequently involved questions surrounding possession, promised returns, land transactions and the movement of funds between companies.
For investors, such cases can have consequences well beyond the original financial dispute. Investigations into alleged diversion of funds may determine where money moved, which entities benefited and whether transactions were connected to the underlying projects.
The ED’s role in such cases is to investigate suspected proceeds of crime and financial transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A search is part of that investigative process; further action can depend on evidence collected during the probe.
The development also puts renewed attention on Gurugram’s large real estate market, where commercial and residential projects have attracted substantial investment over the past two decades.
The agency’s findings, and any response from the companies or individuals named in the investigation, will be important in establishing the eventual legal picture. For now, the case remains under investigation, with the ED examining the alleged ₹248.46-crore financial trail and the role of entities linked to the former minister.
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