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The Enforcement Directorate carried out extensive searches at multiple premises linked to Ashok Kumar Mittal, a Rajya Sabha member of the Aam Aadmi Party, as part of an investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
Officials said at least ten locations across Jalandhar and nearby areas in Punjab, along with Gurugram in Haryana, were covered in the operation. The searches began early in the morning at around 7 am and were continuing at the time of filing this report.
Investigators targeted educational institutions and business entities associated with the Lovely Group, a network owned by Mittal and his family. Among the premises searched was the campus of Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, one of the largest private universities in the region.
Homes, businesses, and institutions under investigation
Search teams also visited residential properties belonging to Mittal and his relatives in Jalandhar Cantonment and other parts of the city. Officials confirmed that several commercial establishments linked to the group were examined during the operation.
These included Lovely Autos, Lovely Sweets, and the Lovely Distance Education Centre, all part of the business ecosystem run by the Lovely Group. Authorities said Mittal’s residential premises were also covered as part of the coordinated search.
According to officials familiar with the operation, the probe is being handled by the agency’s central headquarters investigation unit based in New Delhi. The searches extended beyond Punjab to Gurugram, where investigators examined premises linked to Tetr College of Business and Master’s Union College of Business.
Officials added that the enforcement agency did not seek assistance from the local police while conducting the searches.
Mittal, a businessman and educationist, founded Lovely Professional University and currently serves as its chancellor. The institution is jointly owned by him and his brothers, Ramesh Mittal, chairman of the Lovely Group, and Naresh Mittal, its vice chairman.
Attempts to contact Mittal, his associates and members of his public relations team were unsuccessful as their mobile phones were reportedly switched off while the searches were underway. The agency had not issued a formal statement regarding the operation at the time of reporting.
Political storm erupts ahead of Punjab elections
The enforcement action comes shortly after Mittal was elevated within the party hierarchy. On April 3, he was appointed deputy leader of the AAP in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Raghav Chadha.
The raids quickly triggered sharp political reactions. AAP leaders accused the Union government of using investigative agencies to influence the political climate in Punjab ahead of Assembly elections scheduled early next year.
Responding to the criticism, Union Minister of State for Railways and Food Processing, Ravneet Singh Bittu, defended the agencies and said people of Punjab were filing complaints against ministers in the state government. He added that the Centre’s policy was to clean the country of corruption.
Second ED action against an AAP leader in Punjab
Mittal is the second AAP leader from Punjab to face action by the Enforcement Directorate in recent years. In November 2023, the agency arrested Amargarh MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with a case linked to an alleged ₹40.92 crore bank fraud.
That case followed searches conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation, during which investigators recovered cash, foreign currency notes, and documents from premises linked to the MLA.
With Punjab Assembly elections approaching next year, the latest raids have intensified the political confrontation between the AAP government in the state and the BJP-led administration at the Centre, adding a sharp political dimension to an already high-profile financial investigation.
