ED issues summon to Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh again

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday again issued a summon to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh as he failed to appear before it today in connection with the case filed against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Singh was to visit New Delhi today on the previous summon, but cancelled it later.

After being booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court in this case, the Chief Minister had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring against him and asserted that all charges levelled against him were fabricated.

Earlier in the day, accusing the CBI and ED of working at the behest of the BJP-led Central Government, Himachal Youth Congress chief Vikramaditya Singh on Thursday said the money laundering case against his father and Himachal Chief Minister was manufactured as a part of the saffron party's 'Congress-mukt Bharat' ideology.

Singh said it was not only confined to Himachal Pradesh, but to all other Congress-ruled states where the BJP had been using the investigating agencies to settle their political scores.

Earlier, the ED had attached assets of Virbhadra Singh worth Rs. 8 crore in a money laundering case.

In March this year, the Delhi High Court refused to grant a stay on the proceedings initiated by the ED against him.

The ED, had last year, registered a money laundering case against Virbhadra Singh and others under provisions of PMLA after taking cognisance of a criminal complaint filed by the CBI in this regard.