Investors claim loss of ₹248.46 crore in Gopal Kanda real‑estate scam, ED steps in

A group of more than 660 investors have raised alarms over a massive shortfall in projects promoted by former Haryana minister Gopal Kanda. The investors allege that they collectively deposited close to ₹248.46 crore into four commercial real‑estate schemes run by Watika Ltd., but the promised handovers, guaranteed returns and sale agreements remain undelivered.

The Enforcement Directorate responded by executing raids on Thursday at three of Kanda’s properties in Gurugram – his house, a farm house and an office – invoking the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The agency’s investigation focuses on the alleged diversion of the investors’ money to a network of companies linked to Kanda.

According to the ED, the financial trail points to systematic transfers designed to mask the source of the funds, a hallmark of money‑laundering activity. The probe also examines whether the promised benefits to investors were a façade to attract large sums.

Kanda, who once handled the Urban Local Bodies, Housing and Industries portfolios in the Haryana government, later founded the Haryana Lokhit Party and served two terms as a legislator from Sirsa. He resigned from his ministerial role in 2012 after being accused of influencing an air hostess’s suicide, a charge from which he was cleared by a court in 2023.