Punjab Cricket Association under investigation for Rs 78-crore land deals

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has requested the Punjab Police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) regarding land purchases totaling Rs 78 crore in Amritsar and Bathinda.

The agency alleges that the PCA purchased land at highly inflated prices, far exceeding government collector rates. In Bathinda, the association reportedly paid approximately Rs 19.67 lakh per kanal, nearly four times the government rate of Rs 5 lakh per kanal. In the Ajnala region of Amritsar, investigators claim land was bought cheaply from farmers by developers and then sold to the PCA within months at massive markups.

One specific transaction involved 19.5 acres in Bhalla village, where land purchased for roughly Rs 15 lakh per acre was allegedly flipped to the PCA for nearly Rs 3 crore per acre. The ED has flagged potential criminal conspiracy and cheating, noting suspicious fund transfers to company directors and partners following the transactions.