NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today conducted searches on premises of two persons, including a representative of a firm linked to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Bikaner land scam.
Officials said the ED raided at least three locations in Sector-17 of Faridabad and the nearby village of Bhuapur under Tigaon police station.
The agency said the premises belong to Mahesh Nagar and Ashok Kumar. The sector 17 premises, it said, are also shared by Nagar's brother who is a sitting Congress MLA from the area.
It said in four cases of land purchase in Bikaner by a firm identified as Ms Skylight Hospitality Private Limited linked to Vadra, the "authorised representative" was Nagar.
Kumar, it has been alleged by the agency, purchased lands in the same area using the "power of attorney" of others. It is also alleged that Kumar is a "close associate" of Nagar.
Officials said the agency seized important documents and other evidence in this case after the raids.
The ED had recently attached assets worth Rs 1.18 crore of government officials and others in connection with the case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case pertains to a land in Kolayat area of Rajasthan's Bikaner district which was meant to be alloted to those displaced due to the Army's Mahajan field firing range.
The ED had registered a criminal case under the PMLA in the matter in 2015 taking cognisance of FIRs filed by the state police after the local Tehsildar had complained of alleged forgery.
The agency, in this case, had also issued notices to the said firm linked to Vadra and has obtained certain documents from it.
However, the ED has not mentioned the name of Vadra or any company linked to him in its FIR filed under PMLA in this case.
In the FIR, it had named some Rajasthan government officials and the "land mafia".
Vadra had denied any wrongdoing even as the Congress called the action "sheer political vendetta".