New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to raid offices of the close associates of Robert Vadra in Delhi and Bengaluru. Vadra was issued the third summons on Thursday, December 7 by the ED after he failed to respond to the previous two summons. The ED had asked Vadra to appear before the investigating officer in the Bikaner land deal money laundering case, for questioning. His Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd is being investigated for fraudulently acquiring land in Bikaner meant for the rehabilitation of poor villagers.
Vadra’s lawyer alleged that his client and his close associates were locked up arbitrarily by the ED team after they conducted a raid on their companies. Khaitan also accused the ED officials of conducting illegal raid as they did not have the mandatory search warrant.
“They have not found any evidence in the last four-and-a-half years. So they wanted to lock the door and plant the evidence today. They are going to claim that they found the evidence, which is actually manufactured and planted,” Khaitan told reporters. He also accused the ED of locking the people of Skylight hospitality inside and not allowing anyone to go inside.
The Congress, slamming the Modi government, said that it was willfully targeting party chief Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law. “Sure shot defeat in 5 states unnerves Modi govt to again use the old tools-try vendetta politics against Robert Vadra to divert the narrative,” Randeep Surjewala, Congress Chief Spokesperson said on Twitter.
In August 2014, the Rajasthan police had filed cases against Sky Light Hospitality and others after the NDA government took charge at the Centre. The very next year, a case was registered by the ED against the company’s staff under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on the Rajasthan police’s FIRs and chargesheets.
