ED seals National Herald office, premises to not be opened without permission. Read here
Premium- The Enforcement Directorate seals the National Herald office, instructing that the premises not be opened without prior permission from the agency
A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out raids at 12 locations in Delhi and other places in connection with the National Herald case in which top Congress leaders are accused of violating norms, on Tuesday the Enforcement Directorate sealed the National Herald office, instructing that the premises not be opened without prior permission from the agency.
On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday carried out raids at 12 locations in the national capital and at other places in connection with the National Herald case in which top Congress leaders are accused of violating norms, according to news agency ANI report.
Notably, the National Herald case pertains to the alleged financial irregularities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and was registered about nine months ago after a trial court took cognisance of an Income Tax department probe carried out on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.
The petitioner had approached the court alleging that the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper, were fraudulently acquired and transferred to Young Indian Pvt Limited (YIL), in which Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi owned 38% shares each, according to ANI report.
Swamy had alleged that the Gandhis cheated and misappropriated funds, with YIL paying only ₹50 lakh to obtain the right to recover ₹90.25 crore that AJL owed to Congress. The raids were conducted days after the investigative agency questioned Congress interim-president Sonia Gandhi for nearly three hours on July 27. It was the third round of questioning of the senior leader in the case, the report said.
After the summoning of Sonia Gandhi by the ED, Congress workers and leaders staged protests in various parts of the country alleging misuse of probe agencies by the government. Sonia Gandhi was questioned by ED on July 26 also. She had reached the ED office accompanied by her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the report noted. Officials said on that day, the party president's response was sought to around 30 questions regarding her involvement with the National Herald newspaper and Young Indian Pvt Ltd, the report further added.
(With inputs from ANI)
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