CHANDIGARH: After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned former Punjab chief minister and senior BJP leader Capt Amarinder Singh and his son Raninder Singh in a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, the additional director of the agency posted at its zonal office in Jalandhar has been transferred.
Sources said that Ravi Tewari, a 2009 batch IRS officer who had joined the ED office in Jalandhar in September 2023, has been transferred to Chennai and replaced by Dinesh Pachauri. While Raninder had been summoned on Thursday, Amarinder had been asked to appear on Friday. Both did not appear as Amarinder, a member of the BJP National Executive Committee, has been admitted to a private hospital for a knee surgery.
The ED summons came months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the federal agency to inspect the records maintained by the income tax department. This was not the first time that Raninder had been summoned by the federal investigating agency in the case as he had appeared before the ED twice earlier.
"Taking cognisance of the orders, fresh summons had been sent to Amarinder to appear before the agency on Friday (February 13) and Raninder had been summoned on Thursday (February 12). The summons were issued after complying with said legal procedures," said an official on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Congress general secretary and Punjab affairs in-charge Bhupesh Baghel had said that if Amarinder wanted to return to the Congress, the party high command could consider it, thus sparking speculation about the former CM’s possible comeback.
Congress MLA from Jalandhar (Cantonment) Pargat Singh had also termed the ED move as an attempt by the saffron party to use central agencies to muzzle Amarinder's voice.
However, Jai Inder Kaur, daughter of Capt Amarinder Singh and president of the Punjab BJP Mahila Morcha, ruled out the possibility of her father rejoining the Congress. She said they are in the BJP and will remain with the saffron party.
Following the summons, Raninder had posted on X, "As law-abiding citizens, we will cooperate fully with every investigation agency. We have absolute faith in the rule of law and are confident that truth and justice will prevail."
In July 2016, Raninder was first summoned by the ED and quizzed over the alleged movement of funds to Switzerland and the creation of the Jacaranda Trust. He again appeared before the ED in November 2020. The ED probe against him was reportedly linked to the income tax department’s alleged findings that certain assets acquired by him abroad were not disclosed. The summons to Amarinder was also related to this.
The ED investigation started after a complaint was filed against the former chief minister and his son in November 2016, alleging tax evasion by concealing their foreign assets, besides possessing undisclosed assets abroad. On November 30, 2016, the income tax department filed a complaint before the chief judicial magistrate of Ludhiana against them under Section 277 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, along with provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to false information and perjury.
The complaint alleged that credible information had been received through official channels showing that Amarinder was the beneficiary of foreign assets held through offshore entities, as well as bank accounts with HSBC Private Bank Geneva, Switzerland. The tax department also sought the details of Raninder’s alleged association with the Jacaranda trust.
Capt Amarinder Singh had joined the BJP in 2022 after he was ousted as CM in September 2021 by the Congress.