Rana Ayyub moves Delhi HC seeking permission to travel abroad days after she was stopped at Mumbai airport

The matter was urgently mentioned before a bench of Acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla.

Journalist Rana Ayyub has moved to the Delhi High Court seeking permission to travel abroad after she was prevented from boarding a flight to London on Tuesday. The matter was urgently mentioned before a bench of Acting chief justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla.

Journalist and author Rana Ayyub was stopped at Mumbai airport while she was on her way to London and Italy to speak at events on “intimidation of journalists” and Indian democracy. (AFP File photo)

The matter is likely to be listed tomorrow.

Ayyub was stopped at the Mumbai airport by immigration authorities on the basis of a look out circular (LOC) issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against her in a money laundering case.

“I was stopped today at the Indian immigration while I was about to board my flight to London to deliver my speech on the intimidation of journalists with @ICFJ. I was to travel to Italy right after to deliver the keynote address at the @journalismfest on the Indian democracy,” Rana Ayyub tweeted after she was detained.

“All these events have been planned and publicised all over my social media for weeks. Yet, curiously the Enforcement directorate summon arrived in my mail much after I was stopped at the immigration. What do you fear?” she added.

The central anti-money laundering agency is investigating her for donations she raised through an online crowdfunding platform during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

In February, ED attached funds worth ₹1.77 crore in Ayyub’s bank accounts, alleging that she prepared fake bills in the name of some entities to claim expenses on relief work and created a fixed deposit of ₹50 lakh from the funds raised on the online platform Ketto.