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New Delhi, February 15
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today said it had attached assets worth Rs 4.62 crore of a firm linked to Robert Vadra, Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law, in connection with the Bikaner land scam money-laundering case.
“The attached property includes movable assets amounting to Rs 18,59,500 pertaining to four individuals and one immovable property situated at 268, Sukhdev Vihar in New Delhi to the extent of Rs 4,43,36,550 owned by Robert Vadra’s company Sky Light Hospitality (P) Limited (now LLP),” the agency said.
The ED issued a provisional order for attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
It had grilled Vadra in the case in Jaipur twice last week. His mother Maureen was also asked to depose, but allowed to go
after completion of brief legal procedures.
The ED had registered a criminal case in connection with the deal in 2015, taking cognisance of a clutch of FIRs and chargesheets filed by the Rajasthan Police after the tehsildar of Bikaner complained about alleged forgery in the allotment of land in the area, considered sensitive due to its proximity to the Indo-Pak border.
The ED said the probe revealed that the Centre had acquired land of 34 villages in Bikaner district for the purpose of establishment of Mahajan Field Firing Range (MFFR) and the state government proposed for rehabilitation of the displaced people by providing land equivalent to their acquired land.
“Fraudster Jai Prakash Bagrwa and others, in collusion with state government officials, got 1,422 bigha government land illegally allotted to fictitious persons in the guise of a government scheme for people displaced due to establishment of MFFR and illegally sold 1,372 bigha out of this land to various persons and companies,” it said.
On the detection of fraud, impugned land was recorded back as government land in revenue records, the ED said.
Subsequently, the impugned land chunks were further sold by subsequent purchasers to individuals and companies that generated huge profits. The ED has filed chargesheet in the case against nine accused and the total attachment in the case stands at Rs 6.44 crore now. — PTI
‘Fraudulent’ Purchase & sale
As per the ED, Robert Vadra's company Sky Light Hospitality had purchased 275 bigha (69.55 hectare) land for Rs 72 lakh and sold it for Rs 5.15 crore to Allegeny Finlease and illegally generated profit of Rs 4.43 crore.
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