Rs 15 lakh per acre land sold for Rs 3 crore per acre: ED flags Punjab cricket body land deal, seeks FIR

Two real-estate developers bought agricultural land in a village in Punjab’s Amritsar at around Rs 15 lakh an acre between August and November 2025 and sold the same the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) in February 2026 for nearly Rs 3 crore an acre — a nearly 20-fold jump in a few months, it has been learnt. Subsequent land transactions between the same developers in the village, however, were recorded at Rs 31 lakh to Rs 33 lakh an acre in July 2026.

The transactions involving 19.5 acres, purchased by the PCA for a proposed sports facility, have now come under the scanner of investigating agencies with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recommending the Punjab Police to register an FIR and probe the land deals.

“It is apparent that land acquired by the PCA was purchased by various individuals/entities shortly before and thereafter sold to PCA within a few months at multiple times their purchase price and that cognizable offences, including criminal conspiracy and cheating have been committed,” the ED wrote to Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Varun Sharma. “The information is being shared under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for registration of an FIR, under appropriate sections…,” the ED wrote.

The Indian Express analysed multiple sale deeds and subsequent mutations relating to the 19.5 acres in Bhalla village, as cited by the ED in its October 12 communication to the Mohali SSP. The same transaction details had earlier been obtained under the Right to Information Act by RTI activist Rajiv Vashisth.

The sequence of events raises questions about the timing of the purchases and the sharp escalation in the price paid by the PCA. On August 2, 2025, the PCA’s apex committee met to discuss the purchase of land for a stadium in Amritsar. Five days later, on August 7, Future Homes bought 19.5 acres in Bhalla village from Kashmir Singh for Rs 2.95 crore (sale deed No. 1085). On August 20, the PCA issued an advertisement seeking land for a stadium.

On September 4, AGM Heights purchased 5.7 acres from Angrej Singh for Rs 86 lakh (sale deed No. 1221). On November 28, the company bought another two acres from Satwinder Singh and Sahibjeet Singh for a total of Rs 50 lakh (sale deed No. 1761).

On February 16, 2026, AGM Heights and Future Homes sold 19.5 acres of land to the PCA for Rs 58.22 crore through two sale deeds (Nos. 2324 and 2325). Four subsequent transactions between the two developers in Bhalla village on July 6 and 7 recorded prices ranging from Rs 31 lakh to Rs 33 lakh an acre.

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Former first-class Ranji cricketer Rakesh Handa moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging irregularities in the land purchase by the PCA management. His petition raised questions over the purchase of 18.5 acres in Bathinda and 19.5 acres in Amritsar. He also alleged that mandatory approvals from the PCA Governing Body or its Annual General Meeting had not been obtained for these purchases.

On August 18, 2026, the High Court issued notices to the ED and the PCA management, seeking their response. On Tuesday, the matter came up for hearing again, and the ED submitted its preliminary investigation report.

PCA president Amarjit Singh Mehta said the land had been purchased following the advertisement issued by the association in August 2025 and that any interested landowner could have approached it.