LUCKNOW: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) served an eviction notice on the National Herald property situated in the Kaiserbagh area of Lucknow.
The property, which used to have the offices of National Herald, is valued at an estimated Rs 64 crore. The notice was served by Deputy Director Navneet Rana of ED's Unit-1, headquartered in New Delhi, as part of the proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The notice prohibits any sale or transfer of the property. It is a part of a crackdown by the ED to take possession of AJL's properties in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow—collectively valued at Rs 661 crore—along with AJL shares worth Rs 90.2 crore.
As per the sources, the notice was pasted on the main gate of the building, called Nehru Manzil, on April 9.
The notice has been served under Section 5(1) of PMLA. The sources claimed that the notice said that since the property was acquired through illegal means, it would be sealed.
According to local sources, the shopkeepers, running their establishments from the building, have been asked to vacate it as soon as possible.
The property owned by the publisher of Associated Journal Limited (AJL) is spread over 40,000 square ft., housing some shops and houses.
At present, its DM circle rate is around Rs 35 crore as it is located at a prime business area. Around 20 per cent of this property is housing Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital. The Eye Hospital is being run on lease.
Meanwhile, reacting strongly to ED proceedings, UP Congress Committee chief Ajay Rai called it a ‘false threat’ which would not affect the party at all.
“Attachment of the properties of National Herald seems to be nothing more than an action being taken in frustration by an autocrat,” said Rai.
He added that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister were misusing the constitutional bodies for political vendetta. “Flummoxed by the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi, the Central government is trying to intimidate the opposition. We Congressmen are not going to get frightened by such tactics. We are not going to sit silently,” added Rai.
The sources claimed that the ED team had visited the Congress office on April 11 to get information about the properties associated with the National Herald in Lucknow.
