ED Searches Former Punjab Minister Sunder Sham Arora's Home in Hoshiarpurਈਡੀ ਨੇ ਹੁਸ਼ਿਆਰਪੁਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਾਬਕਾ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਸੁੰਦਰ ਸ਼ਾਮ ਅਰੋੜਾ ਦੇ ਘਰ ਛਾਪਾ ਮਾਰਿਆ

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the Hoshiarpur residence of senior Congress leader and former Punjab cabinet minister Sunder Sham Arora on Monday, 2 November 2026. ED teams reached the house at around 5 am in three to four vehicles and began the search, with personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed at the premises, ANI and IANS reported. Arora, a former MLA from Hoshiarpur, was inside the residence while officials examined documents. The agency had not issued an official statement by the time reports were filed, and the case in connection with which the search was being conducted had not been disclosed.

What did Arora's counsel say?

Advocate H S Saini, counsel for the former minister, told ANI that the officers were from the ED's Chandigarh office. He said he met two of the officers, that they asked him to wait while their investigation was under way, and that they told him he would be given access once it was complete, along with the opportunity for proper legal counsel. The Unmute reported that Saini confirmed officials had requested specific documents but did not state the precise focus of the search. No report carried any information about seizures, arrests or summonses arising from Monday's operation, and those details await the agency's own statement.

Why has Arora faced searches before?

Monday's search was not the first at the same house. In January 2026, an Income Tax Department team searched Arora's residence on Jodhamal Road in Hoshiarpur for approximately 62 hours. After that operation, Arora said the inquiry related to his son's real estate enterprise and maintained that officials had found no irregularities, The Unmute reported. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has also acted against him in separate matters. In one case, the Bureau arrested him on allegations of attempting to bribe a vigilance official with Rs 50 lakh during his tenure as a minister; that case is pending before the court, and the allegation has not been decided.

In January 2023, the Vigilance Bureau registered a criminal case against Arora, an IAS officer and 10 government officials over the transfer of an industrial plot to a realtor company and its division into a township, ANI reported, naming Gulmohar Township Private Limited among the firms booked in that case. Arora served as Punjab's industries minister in the previous Congress government. The Congress had not issued an immediate response to Monday's ED search in the reports filed on Monday morning, and nothing in those reports linked the ED action to any one of the earlier matters.

What happens next in the Hoshiarpur search?

The search was continuing through Monday morning. What the ED was looking for, and whether the operation leads to a statement, summons or further searches, will depend on the agency's official word. Until the ED discloses the case, any link between Monday's search and Arora's earlier Income Tax or Vigilance Bureau matters remains speculation, and Jugti will update this story when the agency or Arora's counsel speaks on the record.

Who is Sunder Sham Arora?

Sunder Sham Arora is a senior Congress leader, a former Punjab cabinet minister who held the industries portfolio, and a former MLA from Hoshiarpur.

Has the ED said why it searched Arora's home?

No. The ED had not issued an official statement disclosing the case behind the search by the time Monday's reports were filed, and Arora's counsel said officials did not state the precise focus.

Was Arora arrested in the ED search?

No arrest was reported. Reports said Arora was inside his residence while officials carried out the search, and no seizure or arrest was mentioned.