Chandigarh, April 27 -- The Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches across 11 locations including Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha and Jalandhar, under the PMLA Act, 2002, in connection with cases related to former Punjab DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar and others, officials said.

According to ED, the searches are linked to the accused, associates, and suspected benamidars and the search operation aims to trace further proceeds of crime, identify benami assets, and gather evidence related to money laundering.

The officials said that the action arises from predicate offences registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation's Chandigarh unit relating to allegations of demand of illegal gratification through a middleman for s...