CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to the Punjab Police seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) over land purchases worth Rs 78 crore in Ajnala in Amritsar district and Bathinda.
The agency has alleged that the land was purchased at highly inflated prices, far above the earlier purchase costs and government collector rates, and has flagged fund transfers to company directors, partners and other individuals after the sellers received payments from the association.
The honorary president of the PCA is Amarjeet Singh Mehta, a senior AAP leader from Bathinda, who has been at the helm since February 2023. Another party leader, Deepak Bali, is the vice-president, while Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Member of Parliament from Sangrur, is its honorary secretary.
Sources said the ED, in a letter dated October 12 issued under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, stated that the PCA bought 155 kanals and 15 marlas in Ajnala for Rs 58 crore and 100 kanals and 10 marlas in Bathinda for Rs 20 crore. It asked the Senior Superintendent of Police, SAS Nagar, to register an FIR at the earliest.
The agency's investigation relies on government collector rates, which may differ from actual market prices. The PCA paid Rs 19,76,94,500 for a parcel of land in Bathinda, equivalent to Rs 19,67,109 per kanal, against the government collector rate of Rs 5 lakh per kanal, or Rs 5,02,50,000 in total. Thus, the purchase price was about 3.93 times the government rate and was the highest paid for a single land transaction in the area during 2024-25, the agency stated.
The ED alleged a similar discrepancy in Amritsar, where two firms purchased land from local farmers and sold portions of it to the PCA within a few months at substantially higher prices.
In its letter, the agency further alleged that in Ajnala, Amritsar district, two firms, AGM Heights Private Limited and Future Homes, bought land from local farmers between August and November 2025 for a combined Rs 7 crore. On February 16, 2026, they sold 155 kanals and 15 marlas to the PCA for Rs 58 crore, within three to six months of their purchases.
One company purchased 61 kanals and 2 marlas from local farmers for Rs 1.36 crore, at around Rs 2.22 lakh per kanal. On February 16 this year, it sold 32 kanals and 4 marlas of the land to the PCA for Rs 12.03 crore, or around Rs 37.4 lakh per kanal.
The second firm purchased 224 kanals and 2 marlas from local landowners between August and November last year for Rs 5.56 crore, or around Rs 2.48 lakh per kanal. In February this year, it sold 123 kanals and 11.5 marlas to the PCA for Rs 46.18 crore, or around Rs 37.4 lakh per kanal.
The ED stated that the PCA bought the parcels at about 15 times the price paid by the two firms three to six months earlier.
The agency also examined bank transactions following the sales and claimed that AGM Heights received about Rs 12 crore, excluding tax deducted at source (TDS), and transferred Rs 4 crore to Harimohan Kaur Randhawa, Rs 2 crore to director Gurpreet Singh and Rs 69 lakh to GS Constructor.
As for Future Homes, the firm received about Rs 46 crore, excluding TDS, from the PCA. The firm transferred Rs 45 crore to its partners, Ramneek Singh and Shallu Dhingra, in equal amounts of Rs 22 crore each. It also flagged payments to other individuals and a transfer to AGM Heights, the ED said.
The letter stated, “PCA chief Amarjeet Singh Mehta hails from Bathinda and his son Padamjeet Singh Mehta is the mayor. Thus, Amarjeet is the influential person in Bathinda, the place where 100 kanals and 10 marlas was purchased on December 20, 2024, from Darshan Singh.”
“Darshan Singh, a seller, received about Rs 19.57 crore, excluding TDS, across three bank accounts, after which most funds moved to other persons and Rs 44.60 lakh was withdrawn in cash. The preliminary enquiries ‘prima facie’ indicate possible misappropriation of society funds and cash withdrawals after payments. The transactions point to suspected criminal conspiracy and cheating under Sections 61(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” the letter stated.
The ED concluded that it had enclosed the sale and purchase documents relating to these land deals and asked the SSP to provide an early copy of the FIR after its registration. The transactions indicated possible criminal conspiracy and cheating, citing Sections 61(2) and 318(4) of the BNS.
The investigation began after former Ranji player Rakesh Handa challenged the termination of his membership and approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court in August. He alleged that his membership was terminated on May 21 this year, without giving him an opportunity to be heard, after he complained of financial bungling in the PCA. Handa represented the Punjab Ranji team from 1978 to 1982.
The matter was listed for hearing on Tuesday, and his petition was disposed of by the court after the PCA contended that his termination was a civil dispute and that he should file a civil suit. However, the ED's letter and affidavit were not taken on record by the High Court. They were supplied to all the parties, which is how the documents became public.