The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s brother Agrasen for questioning in connection with its probe into an alleged fertiliser scam. The agency has asked Agrasen to appear before the investigating officer at its headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday.
“He has been summoned and will be questioned on the findings of the Customs Department, which had first investigated the matter and levied a penalty,” an ED official said.
READ MORE: Ashok Gehlot’s brother raided by ED in money-laundering cases linked to fertiliser scam
The Enforcement Directorate is probing the case with the angle of money laundering. The official said that Agrasen will be interrogated about movement of money in the entire affair.
The alleged scam had taken place between 2007 and 2009 when Congress was in power. Ashok Gehlot was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan at that time.
The ED’s summon to Agrasen comes days after raids were conducted at over a dozen premises linked to him across the country. The ED had on July 22 raided 13 places in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Gujarat and Delhi, in connection with its probe into the scam.
The premises where searches were conducted are associated with Agrasen Gehlot and his company Anupam Krishi.
Agrasen is already facing a Rs 7 crore Customs penalty in the case. The ED has filed a criminal case under the PMLA based on a Customs department complaint and chargesheet in the alleged fertiliser scam case.
Earlier in November 2017, the erstwhile BJP government had alleged that Ashok Gehlot’s brother exported subsidised fertilisers from 2007 to 2009. The subsidised fertiliser were supposed to be consumed by farmers, but were diverted to private companies. Agrasen had played a key role in diverting the product to private companies.
The summon comes in the midst of a political turmoil in Rajasthan that was triggered by former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot’s open revolt against CM Ashok Gehlot. Pilot was sacked as deputy CM and Congress’ Rajasthan chief. Besides Pilot, 18 other Congress MLAs had also fallen out with the Ashok Gehlot government.