E-Paper
ED searches at entities linked to AAP RS member Ashok Mittal’s enter Day 2
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches against AAP Rajya Sabha member Ashok Kumar Mittal and educational institutions promoted by him and his family continued at three locations in Phagwara and Gurugram on Thursday, officials said
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches against AAP Rajya Sabha member Ashok Kumar Mittal and educational institutions promoted by him and his family continued at three locations in Phagwara and Gurugram on Thursday, officials said.
The RS member is being probed in a case linked to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
On Day 2, the ED teams are carrying out search operations at Phagwara campus of Lovely Professional University (LPU), Gurugram-based Tetr College of Business and Masters Union College of Business. On Wednesday, the ED had initiated raids at least 10 locations, including residential and business premises of Mittal.
The ED, which is yet to release any official statement regarding the searches, ended its raid at Mittal’s residence in Jalandhar Cantonment on Thursday morning at around 8:30am.
Mittal, who was appointed the AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha on April 3, replacing Raghav Chadha, categorically refused to comment on the raids and questioning by the federal agency, saying that the process is still underway at some locations.
“We have observed the whole situation very closely. It won’t be appropriate for me to comment on the development without having detailed consultation with national AAP leadership,” Mittal said.
Mittal said he will be travelling to New Delhi on Friday to hold a discussion with the party’s top leadership. “We will surely brief the media and issue a statement in detail,” Mittal added.
On Wednesday, the teams of the federal agency carried out raids at the campus of LPU at Phagwara and the residences of Mittal and his relatives in Jalandhar Cantonment and city areas, Lovely Autos, Lovely Sweets, Lovely Distance Education Centre, all entities of the Lovely Group owned by the Rajya Sabha member and his brothers, Ramesh Mittal and Naresh Mittal.
The ED action has created a political uproar in the state, with the AAP leaders accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of using federal agencies as a tool to intimidate opposition parties and their leaders.
Mittal is the second AAP leader to face ED action. On November 6, 2023, the ED arrested party MLA from Amargarh Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case registered against him in 2022.
