/Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Sukhdev Singh, a key accused in the Rs 12 crore Guava Orchard Scam, in which fraudulent compensation claims were made during land acquisition for the Aerotropolis Project in SAS Nagar (Mohali). Sukhdev had been absconding for several months and had illegally received Rs 12 crore in compensation, transferring the funds to his and his wife’s accounts, in collusion with the government officials.
This arrest is a significant breakthrough in the case, which has already seen seven government officials and 16 private individuals arrested. So far, the VB has recovered Rs 86 crore, and with the latest developments, the total recovery is expected to cross Rs 100 crore.
Despite multiple summons by the Vigilance Bureau, Sukhdev Singh evaded legal proceedings and refused to cooperate with investigators. Unlike other co-accused who voluntarily returned their share of the fraudulent compensation, Sukhdev neither refunded the amount nor sought anticipatory bail by depositing the illicit gains in the government treasury.
A VB spokesperson said that the scam dates back to 2016-17, when the Punjab Government acquired land in Bakarpur village, SAS Nagar, for the Aerotropolis project. To exploit the compensation process, Sukhdev Singh purchased 3 Kanal 16 Marla land in the village. He then conspired with the prime accused Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Bakarpur, to falsely declare the presence of mature, fruit-bearing guava orchards on the land, making it eligible for higher compensation.
To ensure the fraudulent claim was successful, Sukhdev Singh and Bhupinder Singh bribed the concerned Horticulture Development Officer, who falsely recorded the trees as being over three years old. This made them eligible for maximum compensation under government rules, allowing them to siphon off crores of rupees from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
To cover their tracks, the accused destroyed the original Khasra Girdawari (2016-2021) of Bakarpur village, and replaced it with a forged register in 2019. This was done with the help of revenue patwari Bachittar Singh, who manipulated official land records to falsely reflect that well-established guava orchards existed on the land.
Based on these forged records, Sukhdev Singh and his wife Harbinder Kaur fraudulently received Rs 2.40 crore (Rs 2,40,96,442) and Rs 9.57 crore (Rs 9,57,86,642), respectively, from the GMADA’s Land Acquisition Collector (LAC).
After receiving the compensation, Sukhdev Singh attempted to launder the fraudulently obtained money by transferring land to Bhupinder Singh at undervalued rates. In 2022, he sold approximately six bighas of land in Chappar Chiri, SAS Nagar, and 32 Kanals in Kailon village — both at significantly reduced prices, to Bhupinder Singh as part of their criminal agreement to share the illicit funds.
With Sukhdev Singh’s arrest and the expected recovery of Rs 12 crore, the total amount retrieved in the Guava Orchard Scam is expected to reach Rs 100 crore. So far, Rs 86 crore has already been deposited by other accused individuals. The VB has already arrested seven government officials and 16 private individuals, and further investigations are ongoing. The Bureau is now focusing on identifying other officials and middlemen who facilitated the scam, ensuring that all culprits are brought to justice.
