CM’s wife skips ED summons

New Delhi, July 28

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons against Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha Singh after she skipped today’s date in connection with the alleged money laundering case against her husband and others.

Official sources said Pratibha was scheduled to appear before the investigating officer today, but sought exemption citing personal reasons. They said she had now been summoned to appear next week, the third date of her appearance.

Incidentally, the Delhi High Court is expected to hear tomorrow Virbhadra’s plea seeking a direction to the agency not to take any coercive step against him in the wake of the arrest of LIC agent Anand Chauhan in the case.

The agency had also attached Virbhadra’s assets worth about Rs 8 crore earlier this year. The latter had denied allegations of any wrongdoing by him and his family.

The ED had filed a case under criminal provisions of money laundering laws after taking cognisance of a complaint filed by the CBI in this regard in September last year. It had also conducted searches in Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal last year.

The agency is probing allegations against Virbhadra and his family members of having amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 6.1 crore between 2009-11, disproportionate to his known sources of income while serving as the Union Minister of Steel.

The CBI FIR had named Singh, Pratibha Singh, Chauhan and his brother CL Chauhan and they were charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI suspects that during the 2009-11 period, Virbhadra allegedly invested Rs 6.1 crore in life insurance policies in his and his family members’ names through Chauhan claiming this money to be his agricultural income. It alleged that he attempted to legitimise the same as agricultural income by filing revised income tax returns in 2012.

The agency had earlier told the court that Virbhadra while serving as the Union Minister invested huge amount in purchasing LIC policies in his and hid family members’ name through Chauhan.

“Virbhadra while functioning as the Union Minister, Government of India, from May 28, 2009, to June 26, 2012, acquired assets, disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs 6,03,70,782 and tried to justify the same in the form of agricultural income.

“Pratibha Singh, wife of Virbhadra Singh, Chauhan, with whom Virbhadra has signed the alleged MoU for managing his apple orchard and Chunni Lal Chauhan, proprietor of M/s Universal Apple Associates, who purportedly showed purchase of apple of Shrikhand Orchard, have facilitated in justifying the disproportionate assets of Virbhadra Singh and thereby abetted the offence,” the ED had alleged. — PTI