National Herald case: Rahul Gandhi quizzed by ED for 2nd straight day, more Congress leaders detained

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived at the offices of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the second consecutive day of questioning in relation to the National Herald money laundering case, in which party president Sonia Gandhi has also been summoned.

Rahul Gandhi reached the ED office in Delhi on Tuesday morning for the second round of questioning in the money laundering case, just a day after he was questioned by the central agency for over 10 hours in relation to the investigation.

The Congress leader arrived at the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi with his "Z+" category CRPF security escort even as police personnel was deployed in huge numbers and section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was imposed around the agency's office just like Monday.

Despite the high-security deployment and police personnel around the offices, Congress leaders took out a march once again today in support of Rahul Gandhi. The security forces ended up detaining more Congress workers today, with over 450 party members already detained yesterday.

The Congress MP from Wayanad spent over 10 hours at the federal agency's office on Monday, where he was questioned over multiple sessions, and his statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED officials had said that Gandhi’s questioning could not be completed on Monday, and so he was summoned once again on Tuesday for further interrogation. Congress leaders have slammed ED for summoning Gandhi again, just a day after he was kept at the office till midnight.

Agency sources said that during the National Herald case questioning, Gandhi recorded his statement and checked its transcript minutely, while Congress leaders said the investigators took multiple breaks during his questioning.

Sonia Gandhi, who is the current president of Congress, has also summoned by the ED on July 23 in relation to the case. Earlier, Sonia Gandhi was summoned for questioning on June 8, but the date had to be delayed as she contracted coronavirus, and is currently hospitalized in Delhi.

(With PTI inputs)

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