Patiala: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today carried out a raid at the house of a PCS officer here in connection with the alleged multi-crore Hoshiarpur land scam. ED sleuths led by Assistant Director Ajai Singh raided the house of Anand Sagar Sharma at around 8 am.   

Sharma has already been booked by the Punjab state vigilance bureau along with 12 others including revenue officials in connection with the alleged scam. The case pertains to the acquisition of 103 acres of land for widening a stretch of National Highway (NH) 70 from Hoshiarpur to Chintpurni.   

A preliminary inquiry had allegedly indicated that compensation was awarded at inflated rates to influential local leaders during the land acquisition for the four-laning of the highway.   

The prime minister's office and the Union ministry of road transport and highways had taken note of this alleged scam. The matter came to light in July 2016 and the vigilance bureau had registered a case on February 10, 2017.   

The ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in June this year to probe financial irregularities in this matter. Sharma, who was suspended as SDM Gidderbaha in March this year, had got bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court and on September 28 was reinstated and posted as assistant commissioner general at Fatehgarh Sahib. PTI