NEW DELHI, Aug 3: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday temporarily sealed the premises of Young Indian Limited in Delhi’s Herald House in the Congress-owned National Herald office in Delhi as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation, official sources said. The YIL took over Associated Journals Limited (AJL) which runs the National Herald.
The temporary seal has been put in order to “preserve the evidence” which could not be collected as authorised representatives were not present during the searches on Tuesday, they said. The rest of the National Herald office is open for use, the sources added.
The notice pasted under signature of the ED investigating officer outside the YI office space said it cannot be opened “without prior permission” from the agency. Officials said the ED team had emailed the principal officer/in-charge of the office to open the premises for it to carry out raids but the response was awaited.
The ED on Tuesday searched a dozen locations, including the National Herald office in Herald House at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg near ITO as part of its money laundering probe in the National Herald-AJL-Young Indian deal. The National Herald newspaper is published by Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) and its holding company is Young Indian. The National Herald is registered in the name of AJL.
The agency had raided the offices of the newspaper in Delhi on Tuesday, days after questioning Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. The raid was followed by vehement Congress protests. This time, the police have barricaded the roads leading to the Congress headquarters.
“The raids on Herald House, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg are a part of the continued attack against India’s principal opposition-Indian National Congress. We strongly condemn this vendetta politics against those who speak up against the Modi Govt. You cannot silence us!” Congress MP Jairam Ramesh tweeted.
Ramesh, a former Union minister, again tweeted on Wednesday, “Delhi Police blocking the road to AICC Headquarters has become a norm rather than an exception! Why have they just done so is mysterious…” The ED has questioned both Sonia Gandhi and her son, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, in the alleged money laundering case.
(Manas Dasgupta)