Jalandhar, Dec. 16 -- The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immoveable properties worth Rs.79.93 crore belonging to Malbros International Pvt Ltd, owned by Shiromani Akali Dal former MLA Deep Malhotra, in a money laundering investigation related to environmental crime. ED's Jalandhar zonal office attached the properties in the form of land, building and the controversial liquor factory in Zira and its machinery under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The federal agency initiated investigation on the basis of criminal complaint filed by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) against the firm for violating the provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act by directly discharging untreated wastewater through reverse boring into deep aquifers at its industrial unit at Mansoorwal village in Ferozepur district's Zira tehsil. Earlier, in July 2024, the ED had carried out searches at six locations in various parts of Punjab and seized Rs.78.15 lakh in cash from the premises of Malbros International and its directors under the provisions of PMLA. The ED investigation revealed that Malbros International through its industrial unit at Mansoorwal village was involved in generation and acquisition of Proceeds of Crime (PoC) by deliberately causing pollution of groundwater by persistently and covertly injecting untreated effluents into deep aquifers through reverse boring, and repeatedly discharging wastewater onto land, drains and an adjacent sugar mill. "Its daily functioning involved persistent illegal discharge of untreated effluents into land and groundwater, causing large-scale irreparable ecological damage in form of water pollution and consequent health hazards causing crop loss, cattle deaths and serious health impacts for residents of villages around its premises," the ED said. In January 2023, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann had ordered the closure of the Zira liquor factory after the villagers of over two dozen villages under the banner of Zira Sanjha Morcha alleged that the liquor making unit was polluting groundwater in several villages and also causing air pollution. The unit had been lying shut since July 2022 due to a sit-in protest at the factory gates. Subsequently, the PPCB ordered permanent closure of the liquor unit in July 2023. It may be mentioned that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) had come up with glaring findings in its reports regarding groundwater contamination in the area surrounding the Malbros distillery. As per reports, the groundwater was found to have a high concentration of metals and heavy metals (toxic elements) in Mansoorwal, Mahianwala Kalan and Ratol Rohi villages around the plant. The monitoring of two borewells located on the premises revealed presence of very high concentration of metals and toxic metals namely arsenic, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead and selenium. The water from both borewells was black-coloured and had a foul odour, as observed during sampling....