The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday (August 3) ‘temporarily sealed’ the premises of the Congress-owned office of Young Indian Private Limited (YIL), a day after the raid at the National Herald newspaper’s head office in Delhi. ED officials told PTI that steps have been taken to “preserve evidence” which should no longer be collected as accredited agents were not present at some stages of Tuesday’s raid.
The rest of the National Herald office remains open, sources instructed the information agency. As per the officials, the ED sleuths had emailed the main officer/incharge of the Young Indian workplace to open the premises for the central organization to behavior the searches, however, a response used to be awaited.
The ED had raided more than one areas inclusive of the National Herald workplace as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation on Tuesday. The searches have been executed underneath the crook sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to “gather extra proof with regard to the trail of funds and they are in opposition to these entities who have been worried in the National Herald-linked transactions”, the officials stated.
The raids came after the central probe enterprise questioned Congress president Sonia Gandhi for almost three hours on July 27. Earlier, the ED had additionally puzzled Rahul Gandhi in connection with the National Herald-AJL-Young Indian deal case.
The National Herald newspaper is published via and registered in the identify of Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) and its preserving corporation is Young Indian.
Congress had hit out at the Centre over the raids and referred to as it “vendetta politics”. Jairam Ramesh, Congress normal secretary, said, “The raids on Herald House, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg are a phase of the persevered attack in opposition to India’s essential opposition — Indian National Congress.”
“We strongly condemn this vendetta politics towards those who communicate up against the Modi Govt. You cannot silence us!” he added.
Meanwhile, additional Delhi Police forces have been deployed outside the office and 10 Janpath – Sonia Gandhi’s residence, ANI reported. Jairam Ramesh shared a video showing police forces outside the AICC headquarters in Delhi. “Delhi Police blocking the road to AICC headquarters has become the norm instead of an exception! Why they did this is a mystery…,” Ramesh wrote in a tweet.
