Money laundering case: Robert Vadra grilled for over 8 hours hours by ED in Jaipur

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], Feb 12 (ANI): UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra was interrogated for over eight hours by the Enforcement Directorate here on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case amidst heightened security. His mother Maureen Vadra, was also present.
"ED first called Robert Vadra in Delhi. There he went for three-four days. Then he was asked to appear in Jaipur. He came at 10:30 am. The ED interrogated him for eight-nine hours. He gave right answers to whatever questions he was asked. The investigation is currently on. He has been called tomorrow also. He will again come at 10:30 am tomorrow. His mother's investigation has concluded," Vadra's lawyer SJ Khaitan told media here.
The mother-son duo arrived in Jaipur on Monday to be quizzed on an alleged land scam in Bikaner, the state’s border town.
On January 22, the Rajasthan High Court’s Jodhpur bench had directed Vadra, Maureen, and his partners in Skyline Hospitality to appear before the ED on February 12 to respond to the allegations of money laundering levelled against his firm.
In November last year, the ED had for the third time issued summons to Vadra and his mother - a partner in the firm- for questioning but none of them appeared. Instead, they moved the High Court seeking a ‘no coercive action’ order and stay of their arrest.
A money laundering case was registered by the ED in September 2015, claiming that Skylight Hospitality had acquired land in Kolayat village of Bikaner, which was meant for the rehabilitation of the poor villagers.
It was alleged that Vadra bought 69.55 hectares of land at a cheaper rate and then sold the land to Allegheny Finlease for Rs 5.15 crore through illegal transactions.
It is worth mentioning that in the Bikaner land scam fraudsters in collusion with the state government officials got allotted land in the name of fictitious individuals, though the land was actually meant for the people who were displaced due to the creation of Mahajan Field Firing range.
The fraudsters created forged allotment letters purportedly issued by the Colonisation Department of the state government and 1,422 ‘bighas’ of land was recorded in revenue record in the name of fictitious allottees without due verification of the allotment letters from the concerned department. (ANI)