Virbhadra case: ED gets 2 months to file fresh charge sheet

The Enforcement Directorate was today granted two months by a special court to file a fresh charge sheet in a case of money laundering allegedly involving Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Kumar Goel allowed the agency's plea saying it was still probing the matter and would take more time to file a supplementary charge sheet in which more persons were likely to be named as accused.
The first charge sheet has only named Singh's close aide and LIC agent Anand Chauhan as the accused, who is in the judicial custody.
Chauhan was arrested from Chandigarh on July 9 last year under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED had claimed in the court that during Chauhan's interrogation, it was revealed that as an LIC agent, he had entered into a modus operandi to launder disproportionate assets by investing in LIC policies.
It had alleged that Singh "while serving as a union minister, invested huge amounts in purchasing LIC policies in his own name and that of his family members through Chauhan".

"Virbhadra Singh, while functioning as a union minister during the period from May 28, 2009, to June 26, 2012, acquired assets, disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs 6,03,70,782 and further tried to justify the same in the form of agricultural income.

"Pratibha Singh, wife of Virbhadra Singh, Chauhan, with whom Virbhadra Singh had signed the alleged MoU for managing his apple orchard and Chunni Lal Chauhan, proprietor of M/s Universal Apple Associates, who purportedly showed purchase of apples from Shrikhand Orchard, have facilitated in justifying the disproportionate assets of Virbhadra Singh and thereby abetted the offence," the ED had alleged.
Chauhan was also chargesheeted, along with 82-year old Singh, his wife and others, in a separate case filed by CBI in the matter.
Singh and the other accused have denied all allegations made against them by the ED and the CBI.