The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the Hoshiarpur residence of Sunder Sham Arora, a senior Congress leader and former Punjab cabinet minister, from the early hours of Monday, November 2. ED teams reached Arora's house at around 5 am and began examining documents inside, The World Opinion reported; Arora was present at home when the officials arrived. Nation Press carried the same development on Monday morning, reporting that the ED had raided the former minister's Hoshiarpur residence.

Source: The World Opinion

According to the reports, officers arrived at the premises in three to four vehicles and CRPF personnel were deployed to provide security during the operation. The ED has not issued an official statement, and it is not yet clear which case the team is probing. Sources cited in the reporting indicated the action may be linked to a money-laundering case — that link is unconfirmed, and the full picture is expected only after the agency responds.

Source: Nation Press

Arora, a two-time MLA from Hoshiarpur, served as Industries and Commerce Minister in the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government. He is no stranger to investigating agencies: in October 2022 the Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested him over allegations that he offered a Rs 50 lakh bribe to a vigilance officer — an allegation he denies — and that case is still pending in court. In July, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed his plea for a fresh, independent investigation in the bribery case, calling his bias claim an 'afterthought'. A separate Vigilance FIR relating to an alleged Mohali plot allotment was quashed by the High Court in December 2024.

Source: NorthDesk

The same Hoshiarpur house was searched earlier this year by the Income Tax Department, whose three-day raid ended on February 1. Arora said at the time that his family had fully cooperated and that the raid had not revealed any incongruity in the family's accounts. Following Monday's ED search, political activity in Hoshiarpur intensified, the reports said. What the ED was looking for, what if anything was seized, and whether anyone has been summoned will be known only from the agency's statement, which is awaited.