What happened in Mohali?
What began as an Enforcement Directorate investigation linked to a private infrastructure company has developed into one of the most significant political confrontations in Punjab ahead of the 2027 Assembly election.
ED officials entered the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) headquarters in Mohali on Tuesday, September 22. The operation continued for more than 50 hours before concluding on Thursday.
According to The Indian Express, eight senior GMADA officials were questioned. Investigators cloned mobile phones and examined computers, servers and official records, while electronic devices and documents were also seized.
The searches were part of a wider operation covering locations in Delhi, Mohali, Chandigarh, Panchkula and Ludhiana in connection with a money-laundering investigation linked to Tirupati Infra Projects.
The investigation did not originally begin with GMADA
This distinction is important.
According to The Indian Express, the ED investigation originated from a CBI case involving an alleged bank fraud linked to Tirupati Infra Projects, rather than from a case initially registered against GMADA itself.
The ED alleges that statutory dues and penal interest were waived in a way that benefited the company by approximately ₹40 crore to ₹57 crore. The investigation subsequently expanded into GMADA's land and administrative dealings.
AAP has questioned the basis of the operation, arguing that there was no FIR or predicate offence against GMADA itself. That is part of the party's challenge to the agency's action and should be distinguished from the ED's investigative position.
Why GMADA matters
GMADA is a major Punjab government urban-development authority.
Its responsibilities include master planning, land acquisition, infrastructure development and the allotment and auction of residential and commercial properties in and around Mohali.
It also controls a substantial land bank. As a result, decisions involving reserve prices, acquisitions, compensation and auctions can involve transactions worth hundreds of crores of rupees.
That explains why an investigation into the authority's land-related decisions quickly became politically significant.
Where does the ₹10,000-crore figure come from?
The most serious allegation emerged after the searches.
The ED has alleged that reserve prices for portions of GMADA's unsold land were reduced before auctions in a manner that could have caused a potential loss of nearly ₹10,000 crore to GMADA and the Punjab government.
The wording matters: ₹10,000 crore is an ED allegation of potential loss, not a judicially established loss or proven scam amount.
The investigation remains ongoing, and no final court finding cited in the available reporting establishes that such a loss actually occurred.
Why Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia entered the controversy
The political stakes increased when the ED made allegations involving senior AAP figures Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia.
In a statement reported by The Indian Express, the agency alleged that Jain and Sisodia had regularly held “unofficial” meetings with GMADA officials concerning issues such as master plans and site auctions.
The agency further alleged that decisions involving fresh auctions, acquisitions and compensation were taken informally under Jain's instructions.
According to the ED, GMADA officials took files outside the authority's PUDA Bhawan office for meetings with Jain and his OSD Amarender Jha at a government bungalow in Sector 39, Chandigarh.
Jain is associated with AAP's Punjab organisation, while Sisodia has also been involved in the party's Punjab affairs.
These remain investigative allegations by the ED, not findings of guilt.
What AAP says
AAP has rejected the allegations involving Jain and Sisodia as “completely false, baseless and politically motivated” and says neither leader has a role in GMADA's projects, official functioning or decision-making.
The party has instead accused the BJP-led Union government of deploying central investigative agencies to put pressure on Punjab's AAP government ahead of the Assembly election expected in February 2027.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the Centre of trying to create fear among government officers.
AAP has also argued that targeting GMADA could disrupt an institution important to Punjab's development and revenue generation. These assertions represent AAP's political position and are disputed by its opponents.
Punjab government takes the fight to High Court
The dispute then moved from politics into the courts.
The Punjab government approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging that officials inside GMADA were being detained during the lengthy search operation.
The High Court appointed a warrant officer to visit the premises and examine the situation. According to The Indian Express, the officials subsequently told the warrant officer that they had not been illegally detained or pressured.
That detail is significant because it separates the state government's initial allegation from what the officials reportedly told the court-appointed officer.
Protest outside GMADA raises the temperature
The confrontation soon moved outside the GMADA headquarters.
Around 400 AAP leaders and workers gathered outside the Mohali office as the ED operation continued, according to The Tribune.
Protesters accused the BJP-led Centre of using the ED to pressure the Punjab government.
The protest also saw clashes and property damage. The Tribune reported that windowpanes of vehicles used by ED officials were damaged, while The Indian Express reported alleged stone-pelting by some protesters and attempts by police to detain participants.
These incidents transformed what had started as an investigative operation into a visible political confrontation.
Sisodia leads AAP’s political counterattack
Manish Sisodia became one of AAP's most prominent voices attacking the Centre over the operation.
He alleged that the raids were part of an attempt to intimidate the Punjab government as the election approached and accused the ED of being politically deployed.
The Tribune reported that Sisodia used particularly sharp rhetoric against the agency and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Those comments are Sisodia's political allegations, and the available evidence does not independently establish that the ED searches were ordered by the Prime Minister for electoral reasons.
Opposition parties turn the pressure back on AAP
AAP's confrontation with the Centre did not mean Punjab's other opposition parties sided with the state government.
BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu said the ED operation exposed corruption under the Bhagwant Mann government and invoked the Modi government's stated “zero tolerance” approach to corruption.
Punjab Congress Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded answers from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the alleged potential ₹10,000-crore loss, including questions about who determined reserve prices and who benefited.
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal also called for all relevant files and connections to be investigated.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, meanwhile, questioned the timing of the ED action so close to the election while also raising allegations of corruption against the state government.
The result is therefore not simply an AAP-versus-BJP dispute: the controversy has opened another front in Punjab's wider pre-election political contest.
What is established — and what remains alleged?
Several elements are established from the available reporting: the ED conducted prolonged searches at GMADA; officials and records were examined; the Punjab government approached the High Court; a warrant officer was appointed; and AAP workers protested outside the authority's headquarters.
Other major elements remain allegations.
The potential ₹10,000-crore loss, alleged manipulation of land reserve prices and claims about Jain and Sisodia influencing GMADA decisions come from the ED's investigation and have not been established as findings of guilt by a court.
Similarly, AAP's assertion that the ED operation was politically orchestrated to weaken the party before the Punjab election is an allegation by the party, not an established fact.
Why the GMADA case has become politically explosive
Three factors explain why the episode escalated so quickly.
First, GMADA controls valuable land and development decisions around Mohali, giving any allegation involving its auctions or acquisitions significant financial implications.
Second, the ED has brought nationally prominent AAP leaders into its allegations.
Third, Punjab is heading towards an Assembly election in February 2027, making both the timing of the investigation and the political response especially contentious.
The controversy is therefore operating simultaneously on three levels: a money-laundering investigation, a legal dispute over the conduct of the searches, and an escalating political battle ahead of the Punjab election.
For readers, the central distinction remains essential: the ED's claims about financial loss and AAP leaders are allegations under investigation, while AAP's claim that the Centre is politically weaponising the agency is also a contested political allegation. Neither should be presented as an established conclusion.
JantaScope Editorial Note: This report distinguishes documented developments from allegations made by the ED, AAP and opposition parties. Investigative claims have not been presented as established guilt or final judicial findings. © 2026 JantaScope. All rights reserved.
