Jalandhar, Aug. 5 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched searches across 11 locations in Punjab, including the Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation (PSIEC) headquarters, regarding a money laundering case involving the illegal industrial plot allotment that resulted in an Rs.8.73-crore loss to the state.

The ED case stems from a first information report (FIR) registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on March 8, 2024, against six top officials of the PSIEC for allegedly misusing their official positions and wrongly allotting expensive industrial plots to their relatives, friends and known persons.

The VB arrested PSIEC's chief general manager (estates) SP Singh and general manager (personnel) Jaswinder Singh Randha...