 "Virbhadra Singh")
More people have been summoned to join the investigation in a money laundering case against the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special court on Saturday.
During the hearing of the bail plea of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent Anand Chauhan, arrested in the case, Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar was informed by the agency that the probe is still going on in the case, after which the court fixed the matter for hearing on August 16.
Advocate N K Matta, appearing for the agency, told the court that ED has summoned some people to join the probe on August 9, 10 and 11 and presence of Chauhan, who is currently in judicial custody, was required in the matter.
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Chauhan, also agreed that the application be put for another date after ED's submissions regarding examination of more people.
During the arguments, John submitted before the court that the case against Chauhan and others was documentary in nature and there was no need to keep him in custody.
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She also said that in the case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, almost every accused, including Virbhadra Singh and his wife, has already secured anticipatory bail in the matter.
"I (Chauhan) am a small person in this ladder (of alleged offence). I am mere an intermediary. Your (ED) target is someone else. I am in custody for almost a month now. The entire case is documentary in nature and the ED has already taken my statement," John said on behalf of Chauhan, adding that his custody in Delhi was also illegal as the alleged offence took place in Himachal Pradesh.
Opposing the bail application, Matta said the probe was still going on and was at a crucial stage.
Chauhan was arrested from Chandigarh on January 9 under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as he was allegedly not cooperating with investigating officer of the case.
ED had claimed in the court that during Chauhan's interrogation, it was revealed that as an LIC agent, he had entered into a modus operandi to launder disproportionate assets by investing in LIC policies.
The agency had submitted that Singh, while serving as Union minister, invested huge amount in purchasing LIC policies in his own name and his family members through Chauhan.
"Further, Virbhadra Singh, while functioning as Union minister during the period from May 28, 2009, to June 26, 2012, acquired assets, disproportionate to his known sources of income to the tune of Rs 6,03,70,782 and further tried to justify the same in the form of agricultural income," the agency said.
"Pratibha Singh, wife of Virbhadra Singh, Chauhan, with whom Virbhadra Singh has signed the alleged MoU for managing his apple orchard and Chunni Lal Chauhan, proprietor of M/s Universal Apple Associates — who purportedly showed purchase of apple of Shrikhand Orchard —, have facilitated in justifying the disproportionate assets of Virbhadra Singh and thereby abetted the offence," the ED had alleged.
