Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in New Delhi on Thursday and faced questioning for several hours. ED has summoned Virbhadra in connection with a money laundering case registered against him and others.
Enforcement Directorate has already attached a farm house in Delhi linked to Himachal Pradesh CM.
Singh was summoned to record his statement in this case. He was also likely to be confronted with some documents the ED had seized in the case.
Virbhadra had sought a fresh date for appearing before the directorate, however, it was refused by the agency.
Enforcement Directorate had also refused to give any assurance in the Delhi High Court that it would not arrest Singh if the CM appeared before it.
File photo of Himacha Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.
The ED summons have come close on the heels of a charge sheet being filed by the CBI against Singh, his wife and others for allegedly amassing assets worth around Rs 10 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income.
The agency had summoned Singh earlier also, but then he had excused himself stating he had official commitments.
The probe agency has already questioned his wife Pratibha and son Vikramaditya in connection with the case.
It had filed a case under the anti-money laundering law against Singh, his family members and others after taking cognisance of a complaint filed by the CBI in this regard in September 2015.
The anti money laundering agency has been probing allegations against Singh and his family members of amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income between 2009 and 2011 when he was the Union Minister of Steel. It has also attached assets worth about Rs 14 crore in the case.
A charge sheet by the central bureau of investigation alleged that Virbhadra Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate by 192 per cent of his total income during his tenure as a Union minister.
