ED raids firm in case linked to Robert Vadra

The ED on Monday conducted searches at the premises of a Delhi-based firm as part of its investigations into an alleged land scam in Bikaner involving a firm allegedly linked to Mr Robert Vadra. Sources said the ED officials searched a premises of the firm in south Delhi after its probe found that it was allegedly “involved” in purchasing land from companies who had initially procured land from the border town of Rajasthan. “It is suspected that the firm acted as a dummy or shell company. Some documents and computer peripherals have been seized,” sources said. The Enforcement Directorate picked up the case based on 18 FIRs filed by the state police in August last year.

The ED recently registered a money laundering case against certain real estate developers and Rajasthan government officials to probe a land scam in Bikaner involving a firm allegedly linked to Mr Vadra. The agency picked up the case based on 18 FIRs filed by the state police in August last year after the local tehsildar had made a complaint. A criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was registered by the ED. Sources further said the agency has also taken cognisance of the earlier media reports also that had referred to a firm linked to Vadra which had allegedly purchased some of these lands. The Rajasthan government had in January this year cancelled the mutation (transfer of land) of 374.44 hectares of land, after the land department claimed to have found that the allotments were made in the names of illegal private persons. Sources said the agency suspects that a huge amount of money was laundered in this case by people buying land at cheap through forged documents. The state government, while cancelling the mutations had said that these were not issued by the Commissioner, Colonisation, Bikaner.