ED raids Vadra's close associates for 'receiving money from defence suppliers'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted raids at the premises of some close associates of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, for allegedly receiving money from defence suppliers, according to sources in the investigating agency.

The raids were conducted at three places in Delhi and Bengaluru, according to ED sources.

While Vadra's advocate Suman Khaitan cried foul, ED sources said the investigating agency has "evidence" that the persons being raided had received money in their bank accounts from defence suppliers.

Khaitan claimed that the ED officials raided "close associates" and business partners of Vadra without even showing any search warrants.

"As part of this sinister agenda, officers of Enforcement Directorate (ED) from Jaipur & Delhi raided the office at Sukhdev Vihar, New Delhi as also the residence of his associate at Noida. Besides raiding the residence of associate sister also," he alleged in a statement released by Vadra on his Facebook page.

"The raids have been continuing since morning in a completely illegal fashion with no employ or lawyer being permitted to enter the premises," Khaitan charged.

In the statement, Khaitan alleged that "politics of revenge and malicious vendetta has today reached its nadir."

Earlier, speaking to reporters, he alleged, "It has been four and a half years (of BJP rule) and they found nothing, so now they are locking us outside and planting and fabricating evidence."

He said the ED sleuths had "locked our people" of Skylight hospitality inside the premises and were not allowing anyone to go inside.

Questioning whether this was the "rule of law", Khaitan asked, "Is this nazism?.. Is this a jail?"

He said a newspaper had reported this morning that that three summons had been served on Vadra by the ED and added "but we received none."

Khaitan said, "For 5 years, the present rulers have used every trick in the book to persecute, to hound and to malign my client, Robert Vadra. Government has unleashed all its agencies including ED, CBI and Income Tax to victimize Robert Vadra in an utterly mala fide manner and to harm his reputation and attack his family members."

He alleged that the raids were carried out "inspite of the fact" that Vadra has "adhered to notice/summon by every agency for several years and supplied every document asked for and co-operated fully. The last two sets of documents running over 600 pages were furnished to ED on 26.11.2018 and 15.12.2018.