Robert Vadra at ED office after fresh summons in Gurugram land deal case

New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) Businessman Robert Vadra, husband of Congress leader and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, reached the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office here on Tuesday after being served a fresh summons in connection with its ongoing probe into a land deal case in Gurugram, Haryana.

The 56-year-old businessman, who is the brother-in-law of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, will record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as per reports.

The case pertains to a land purchase in February 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore by Vadra's Skylight Hospitality in Shikohpur in Haryana's Gurugram district.

The mutation process, which usually takes months, was done the next day. Months later, he received a permit to develop a housing society on the land, and the value of the plot increased. He sold it to DLF in June at Rs 58 crore.

Suspecting the proceeds to be part of a money laundering scheme, the ED has been probing the trail behind the windfall gains. The deals were made when Congress was at the helm in the state and Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief minister.

Earlier in the day, Vadra marched from his residence to the ED office after being summoned.

He said that it was a "political vendetta" and that he had nothing to hide.

He was earlier asked to appear before the agency on April 8 in this case, but he did not depose.

Vadra had earlier been questioned by the ED in another money laundering case.

On Monday, Vadra welcomed the arrest of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi and described it as a significant moment for the nation. He also emphasised the importance of the recovery of misappropriated funds from the fugitive businessman and compensating individuals who suffered because of the huge Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam.

While speaking to IANS, he said, "This is very good news for everyone. If somebody has done wrong, he must be nabbed and brought to book."

--IANS

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