Tuesday, 03 September 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Congress leader and former Forest minister Harak Singh Rawat was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Dehradun on Monday. The ED is investigating alleged illegal activities under his ministerial tenure including the felling of thousands of trees in Corbett national park, financial irregularities and unauthorised construction in the Pakhro range of Corbett national park in 2019. The ED had summoned Rawat to their office for questioning and he arrived there on Monday morning as soon as the office opened.
This is the first time Rawat reached the ED office after multiple summons. He was questioned for several hours in the office. It is alkeged that Birendra Singh Kandari and Narendra Kumar Walia, associates of Rawat, allegedly conspired with him to unlawfully register two powers of attorney for a piece of land, which had its sale deed later annulled by a court. They also illegally sold the land to Rawat’s wife and another woman, on which the Doon Institute of Medical Science in Dehradun was built under the Shrimati Poorna Devi Memorial Trust, as per the sources.
The ED had also conducted raids at over 15 locations in Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Haryana under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in February this year. These locations were reportedly linked to the accused in the case. During the raids, the ED seized more than Rs one crore in cash, 1.3 kilogrammes of gold valued at about Rs 80 lakh, foreign currency amounting to Rs 10 lakh, bank lockers, digital devices and several documents related to immovable properties. However, nothing significant was reportedly recovered from Rawat’s properties. Rawat was also interrogated by a team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about a week ago. As the CBI and ED intensify their probe, more developments are expected in the case.
