ED sends second summons to Robert Vadra in Haryana land-deal case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent a second summons to Robert Vadra in connection with a money-laundering case. The agency sent the summons on Tuesday for the probe linked to the Shikohpur land deal in Haryana. 

The ED had sent Vadra a summons on April 8, which he had skipped. The agency is looking into alleged financial irregularities, concerning his firm Skylight Hospitality. 

The allegations involve Skylight buying a 3.5-acre land parcel in Shikohpur from Omkareshwar Properties in February 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore. After Skylight Hospitality obtained a commercial licence, it sold the property to DLF for Rs 58 crore, leading to ED’s suspicion that the proceeds were part of a money laundering scam. 

Earlier, the “slow” progress in the investigation into the alleged irregularities had raised eyebrows. 

In 2012, the mutation of the 3.5-acre land deal was annulled by the Director General, consolidation of holdings and land records and senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka. The BJP had accused the Congress of irregularities in land deals, making it a significant issue in the 2014 Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

Congress, Vadra, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda who was the chief minister of Haryana then had consistently denied any misconduct.