Robert Vadra appears before ED in Jaipur for second consecutive day

Robert Vadra, Congress president Rahul Gandhi's brother-in-law, appeared before the ED at its zonal office here for the second consecutive day on Wednesday for questioning into an alleged land scam in the Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

On Tuesday, Vadra and his mother Maureen had appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Jaipur. Congress general secretary and his wife Priyanka Gandhi had accompanied them to the probe agency's office.

Vadra arrived at the ED office on Bhawani Singh road at 10.26 am in a vehicle amid tight security. Maureen, who had appeared before the ED on Tuesday, was allowed to go after some time, while her son was grilled for nearly nine hours.

The Rajasthan High Court had asked Vadra and his  mother to cooperate with the agency after they approached it seeking directions that no coercive action is taken against them by the agency, following which the duo appeared before the ED in Jaipur.

In the Bikaner case, the agency had summoned Vadra thrice but he failed to appear and later approached the court.

The ED had registered a criminal case in connection with the deal in 2015, taking cognisance of a clutch of FIRs and chargesheets filed by Rajasthan police after the tehsildar of Bikaner complained about alleged forgery in the allotment of land in the area, considered sensitive due to its proximity to the India-Pakistan border.

It is understood that the agency wants to question Vadra about the operations of a firm — Ms Skylight Hospitality Private Limited — allegedly linked to him, which had purchased land in the area. It also wants to confront Vadra with the statements of those said to be linked to him.