Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing has filed a new FIR against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi along with six others in a case linked to the takeover of Associated Journals Limited. The company, earlier connected to the Congress, owns properties estimated to be worth nearly two thousand crore rupees.
The FIR, dated 3 October, says the takeover was carried out through a company called Young Indian. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi together hold seventy six percent of the shares in this company. The police registered the case after receiving a detailed complaint from the Enforcement Directorate, which has been investigating the National Herald matter for several years.
The Enforcement Directorate shared its findings under a section of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act that allows it to ask another agency to register the original offence. This original offence then becomes the basis for the money laundering investigation.
In court, the Enforcement Directorate claimed that Young Indian was used to take control of Associated Journals and that people donated money to Young Indian to please senior Congress leaders. The agency told the court that no charitable work was actually carried out and that decisions taken by the Gandhis caused losses to the main shareholders of Associated Journals.
The Enforcement Directorate also submitted statements from donors. One donor who contributed one crore rupees said the money was arranged at the request of the late Congress leader Ahmed Patel for election expenses. Another donor who contributed twenty lakh rupees said he made the payment after Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy instructed him to do so.
The Enforcement Directorate further alleged that both Revanth Reddy and Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar helped arrange false or bogus donations. Shivakumar is said to have donated money personally and through his trust and later told officials that he did not know much about the activities of Young Indian.
The Bharatiya Janata Party reacted sharply to the new development. Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said that the Gandhi family is the most corrupt and accused the Congress of playing the victim whenever legal action is taken. He said the National Herald case is a clear example of land grabbing and noted that the case began in the years before the present government came to power.
The Congress rejected the fresh FIR. Party leader Abhishek Singhvi said the case is politically motivated and contains no new facts. He wrote on social media that no money moved and no property was transferred. He argued that Young Indian is a not for profit company that cannot distribute any profit to its directors and that the case is being pursued for political reasons.
The National Herald case began after former BJP MP Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint in 2013. A Delhi court took note of the complaint in 2014 which allowed the Enforcement Directorate to start its inquiry. The agency filed a chargesheet in April this year but the court has not yet taken it up.
The new FIR names Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sam Pitroda and others. It also names three companies which are Associated Journals Limited, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited. Dotex is accused of giving one crore rupees to Young Indian. This money was then used to help Young Indian take control of Associated Journals.
