Court grants protection from arrest to Vadra's aide, directs him to appear before ED

A Delhi court Friday granted interim protection from arrest in a money laundering case to Manoj Arora, close aide of Robert Vadra, who alleged that the case was foisted on him by the NDA government as a result of "political vendetta".

Arora told the court that since the 2019 general elections were approaching, the NDA government was "unnerved" by the recent assembly election results in which Congress emerged victorious.

Vadra is son-in-law of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has expressed apprehension that Arora might have fled the country, said that if he was in the country, he should come forward and join the investigation.

ED said Arora has not answered the notice served to him and his places have been raided in his absence.

The allegations by Arora's counsel were made before Special Judge Arvind Kumar who provided relief to him and directed him to appear before the ED on Saturday at 3 pm.

Senior advocate and Congress leader K T S Tulsi, appearing for Arora, was responding to ED's allegations that the accused might have fled from the country.

He submitted that Arora, an employee of Vadra's Skylight Hospitality LLP, was willing to appear before the agency if he was protected from any coercive action and "torture" as such actions may lead him to make a "false confession".

"There is nothing that I (Arora) have acquired anything... They already have entire record in the case. Further I am willing to give all information I have.

"I am willing to appear before ED but I do not want to be be tortured or coerced to make a false confession. They do not to proceed against anybody else because they want to create and falsify evidence. It cannot be said that I am concealing myself. I am appearing before court through my lawyer," the counsel for Arora said.

However, the ED refuted the allegations, by asking that "should no authority investigate any political bigwig because that will be called a political vendetta?"