'Hounded..for 10 years': Rahul Gandhi defends brother-in-law Robert Vadra
What's the story
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has come out in support of his brother-in-law Robert Vadra after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a prosecution complaint against the businessman. The case pertains to a land deal in Gurgaon. Taking to social media platform X, Gandhi said that Vadra has been "hounded by this government for the last 10 years," calling the latest chargesheet a continuation of that "witch hunt."
Case details
ED files chargesheet in Gurgaon land deal
The ED on Thursday filed the chargesheet against Vadra for allegedly laundering "proceeds of crime" in a Gurgaon land deal. The agency has also attached 43 properties linked to him and his entities, including Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd. Apart from Vadra, the chargesheet names 11 others, including Onkareshwar Properties and its promoters/directors Satyanand Yajee and KS Virk.
Defense statement
Vadra's office dismisses charges
Vadra's office has dismissed the charges as a political witch hunt by the current government. They said he is yet to examine the Prosecution Complaint as the court in Delhi is yet to take cognizance of it. "As a law-abiding Indian citizen,...Vadra has always and will continue to extend his fullest cooperation to the authorities. He is confident that at the end of it all, the truth will prevail and he will be cleared of any wrongdoing," the statement added.
Case
Case dates back to 2008
The money-laundering case involves a land sale in Shikohpur, Gurugram, that was carried out in February 2008 by Skylight Hospitality, when Vadra was a director. The company is accused of acquiring 3.5 acres of land in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for ₹7.5 crore. Four years later, in September 2012, the company sold the site to DLF, a real estate major, for ₹58 crore. The Congress government, led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was in power at the time.
Deal
ED case based on FIR from 2018
The deal became contentious in October 2012, when IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then the director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration, canceled the mutation, citing the transaction as a violation of the State Consolidation Act and other related procedures. He was transferred within hours, but he managed to complete the probe before that. The ED's investigation is based on an FIR registered by Gurugram police in 2018, alleging fraudulent purchase of land by Vadra through Skylight.