In a significant crackdown on financial fraud in the real estate sector, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested former Haryana Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker in connection with a ₹1,500 crore money laundering case under the Deen Dayal Awas Yojana. Chhoker was taken into custody from a hotel in Delhi.
Chhokar, a two-time MLA and influential political leader from Samalkha, Haryana, is at the center of a major real estate scam allegedly carried out through his family-owned firm, Mahira Group. Along with his sons, Vikas and Sikandar Chhoker, he is accused of defrauding over 1,500 homebuyers by collecting nearly ₹363 crore under the guise of an affordable housing project in Sector 68, Gurugram. Despite promises of timely delivery, the project remained incomplete well past its committed deadlines. This led to widespread protests and demonstrations by aggrieved homebuyers against the Mahira group.
The Enforcement Directorate suspects large-scale financial irregularities, including the use of shell companies to launder funds. The investigation, launched on the basis of FIRs filed by the Gurugram police in 2023, is part of an ongoing probe into alleged illegal financial activities involving the real estate and other sectors.
The ED revealed after primary investigations that the company directors siphoned off home buyers' money by booking fake construction expenditure in group entities. The cash equivalent to the fake purchases was received back from the entities providing fake bills and invoices by the directors of the Mahira group, which was used for personal gains. In July 2023, the ED seized properties, offices of the Mahira group, luxury vehicles, cash, and jewelry worth several crores in the case.
Earlier, in March 2024, Sikandar Chhoker was arrested in the same case. However, controversy arose when he was spotted outside a hospital in Rohtak in October 2024, despite being under judicial custody. Investigations suggested he had faked illness to avoid jail time after his bail plea was rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Dharam Singh Chhoker began his political career with the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) and was first elected MLA in 2009. He later joined the Indian National Congress and won the Samalkha seat again in 2019. He contested the October 2024 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket but was defeated.
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