New Delhi: Reacting to his nephew Bhupendra Singh Honey’s arrest in an illegal sand mining case days ahead of the state Assembly polls, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday (February 4) said he has no objection to “the law doing its work”.
"We have no objections with the law doing its work," ANI quoted Channi as saying. Honey is the son of Channi's sister-in-law.
Bhupendra Singh Honey has been now remanded to Enforcement Directorate custody till February 8, Harneet Singh Oberoi, his lawyer said.
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge termed the arrest of Channi's nephew as "political”, claiming it is being done "to create pressure".
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia targeted the Punjab CM over his nephew's arrest and said that all Charanjit Singh Channi cares about is "Channi (himself), Honey (nephew), and money".
While Captain Amarinder Singh, founder of Punjab Lok Congress, commenting on the arrest said, "This is the job of any investigating agency...why blame a political party for it?"
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on late Thursday evening arrested Bhupinder Singh Honey in an illegal sand mining case after day-long questioning. He was apprehended from Jalandhar under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
On January 18, the central agency had raided Honey's premises and claimed to have seized about Rs 8 crore cash and "incriminating" documents.
Meanwhile, the ED will produce Honey before a special PMLA court in Mohali today seeking his remand.
The development comes days ahead of Congress announcing its CM face for the upcoming Punjab polls, wherein incumbent CM Channi is the frontrunner. The announcement will be made on February 6, Channi said on Thursday.
Punjab will go to polls in a single-phase on February 20, while the results will be out on March 10.
(With agency inputs)
