Former Haryana MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker Arrested in Rs 1,500 Crore Money Laundering Case After Attempted Escape
New Delhi, 8th May 2025: In a dramatic turn of events, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former Haryana legislator Dharam Singh Chhoker from a luxury hotel in Delhi on Sunday evening in connection with a money laundering case involving alleged financial fraud of over Rs 1,500 crore.
Chhoker, a former Congress MLA from Samalkha and close associate of ex-Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, attempted to flee upon spotting ED officials at the hotel. CCTV footage captured the moment the 61-year-old ran toward the exit with his bodyguard before being subdued after a scuffle by ED’s Gurugram Zone Joint Director Navneet Agrawal. During the scuffle, Chhoker allegedly tried to assault enforcement officers and hotel staff. Authorities claimed he even attempted to escape en route to the ED office but was unsuccessful.
The arrest comes after multiple non-bailable warrants were issued against Chhoker, who has remained evasive despite repeated summons. According to the ED, the charges stem from allegations that his real estate companies amassed ₹616 crore from investors for residential properties in Gurugram but failed to deliver on the promised allotments.
In March, the agency provisionally attached assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), including nearly three acres of farmland, over 2,400 square meters of commercial plots, and eight flats spread across Delhi, Faridabad, and Panipat. Bank accounts and fixed deposits worth Rs 96 lakh were also frozen. The ED had previously auctioned assets worth Rs 44.55 crore linked to Chhoker, his sons Sikander and Vikas, and their company Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd. While Sikander is currently out on bail, Vikas remains absconding. The family’s assets worth another Rs 36 crore were attached in 2024.
Chhoker’s political journey began in 2009 when he won from Samalkha on a Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) ticket. After the HJC aligned with the BJP in 2014, he switched to Congress and contested from Samalkha, winning again in 2019. He unsuccessfully contested the same seat in the 2024 state elections.
In his latest election affidavit, Chhoker listed agriculture as his main source of income, declared assets worth Rs 3.86 crore, and mentioned one pending criminal case related to cheating and forgery.
The ongoing investigation has also drawn attention to his son Sikander, Managing Director of the Mahira Group, which is under scrutiny for alleged irregularities in multiple real estate projects, including six under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). In 2021, joint raids by the ED and the Income Tax Department were carried out across properties owned by the family, leading to multiple FIRs for fraud.
In July 2023, the Haryana Town and Country Planning Department canceled Mahira Home Pvt Ltd’s license for allegedly submitting forged building plans. A criminal case was subsequently filed against the company, its directors, and its signatories.
Further raids in July 2023 uncovered luxury vehicles, cash amounting to Rs 4.5 lakh, and jewellery worth Rs 14.5 lakh from properties in Samalkha, Panipat, Hisar, Gurugram, and Chandigarh. Chhoker’s plea for anticipatory bail was rejected by a Gurugram court in May 2024.
Despite mounting legal troubles, Chhoker had filed his nomination and actively campaigned in the 2024 Assembly elections. However, in October 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed both ED and Haryana Police to arrest him if he failed to surrender within 24 hours.
His arrest marks a significant development in the ED’s ongoing crackdown on high-profile financial frauds linked to real estate scams in northern India.
