Emotional Hug Before ED Grilling: Priyanka Gandhi Drops Off Robert Vadra on Day 2

Entrepreneur Robert Vadra arrived at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) headquarters for the second day running on Wednesday for questioning in the case of money laundering in regard to a 2008 Haryana land transaction. His wife and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joined him, providing reassurance before he walked into the ED headquarters following a tight hug with her.

ED Questions Robert Vadra in 2008 Land Deal Case

Vadra, the brother-in-law of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, is under investigation for a land transaction in Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) in Gurugram. The ED is recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

On Tuesday, officials questioned Vadra for around five hours. He appeared again on Wednesday as part of the ongoing probe.

The probe surrounds a 3.5-acre land transaction in February 2008 between Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd, in which Vadra was a director at one time, and a company. The company had acquired land from Onkareshwar Properties for ₹7.5 crore. In September 2012, the 3.53-acre land was sold by Skylight to real estate conglomerate DLF for ₹58 crore.

During the original transaction, the state was in the grip of a Congress-majority government led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Ashok Khemka’s Intervention Led to Scrutiny

The transaction was rendered controversial in October 2012 when IAS officer Ashok Khemka, Director General of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector General of Registration for Haryana at the time, revoked the mutation of the land. He indicated a violation of the State Consolidation Act and a lapse of procedure. His move sent the transaction under national scrutiny and elicited calls for more stringent inquiry.

It was in 2018 when the Haryana Police filed an FIR to bring the formal probe on the deal.

Robert Vadra Terms Probe “Political Vendetta”

Robert Vadra, who has always claimed to be innocent, termed the ED action politically motivated. “I have always been cooperative with the investigative agencies and have provided the humongous amount of documents,” he said, adding, “There has to be a closure to cases which are as old as 20 years.”

The probe is ongoing as the ED is scrutinizing financial transactions involved in the land transaction.