'Government misusing agencies to threaten people, pressure Opposition'

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the Government alleging that agencies are being used to threaten people, to put pressure on Opposition leaders. She made the remarks following the arrest of Punjab CM Channi's nephew Bhupinder S Honey by ED in illegal sand mining case.

New Delhi:Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lashed out at the Government alleging that agencies are being used to threaten people, to put pressure on Opposition leaders. This should not be allowed during elections, she added. Her allegations assume significance in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) having arrested Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey in an illegal sand mining case from Jalandhar after day-long questioning.

"I've said that agencies are being misused. Govt is using them to threaten people, to put pressure on Opposition leaders. This should not be allowed during elections," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on late Thursday evening had arrested Channi's nephew in an illegal sand mining case from Jalandhar after day-long questioning. Honey was being questioned at ED's office at Jalandhar. ED arrested Honey under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is likely to be produced later in the day before a Special Court at Mohali.

ED's action came around 20 days after it seized more than Rs 10 crore, gold worth above 21 lakh and a Rolex watch worth Rs 12 lakh from the residential premises of Bhupinder Singh Honey, and others in connection with an alleged illegal sand mining case. The ED had declared the recoveries after it concluded its two-day raid conducted at the business and residential premises of the accused persons and their associates in over a dozen places in Mohali, Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Pathankot.