Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
ED raids 15 premises linked to Cong leader in chit fund case
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
|April 16, 2025
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted search operations in at least 15 premises in Rajasthan belonging to former Congress minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas in connection to an alleged ₹49,000-crore chit fund scam, said people familiar to the matter.
JAIPUR:
An official from the agency, requesting anonymity, said, "A team of the ED's Delhi unit is conducting the raid. The search is in connection to alleged M/s Pearl Agro Corporation Limited pertaining to investors' fraud involving amount to the tune of ₹49,000 crore. Further, an FIR has been registered against the associates of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo for illegally disposing of properties of M/s PACL and associate entities. Today, a search is being conducted in this connection at over 15 locations, including residential premises of Khachariyawas and Kulwant Singh (an associate)."
The search started at around 6.30 am at Khachariyawas's Jaipur-based residence.
However, the matter sparked fresh political salvo as the former minister and other senior Congress leaders slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for "misusing the agency's power against the opposition parties".
Khachariyawas said that the BJP is politicising these central agencies. "Such agencies like ED and IT have their rights to conduct search operations. I will cooperate with them. I am not scared of anyone. The BJP should not do this politics of misusing ED. I have currently no case against me, not even this PACL chit fund case."
He added: "I have elderly parents at my house. ED should have served a notice to me before coming here suddenly. It is wrong. They could have summoned me for a questioning. They can check the entire premises, the people should also know what is hidden on my premises. I know BJP's treatment. They can't bother me in this way. I have done nothing wrong. The BJP, which is a corrupt party, should be scared of their deed."
This story is from the April 16, 2025 edition of Hindustan Times Rajasthan.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Hindustan Times Rajasthan
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
What ails the Bretton Woods institutions
The World Bank and IMF were rooted in the Washington Consensus, which foregrounded economics over politics. An ideological rethink and institutional makeover have become necessary
4 mins
October 29, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
In Bihar, voters are not fixated on caste alone
Is caste the prism through which the 2025 Bihar assembly polls are to be interpreted?
3 mins
October 29, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
Whose America is it? In US, Indians face the heat
In the wake of Trump's H-1B visa crackdown, a troubling backlash against the Indian American community is gaining momentum. What began as anonymous grumbling online has now spilled into the open, with racist comments voiced publicly and unapologetically.
4 mins
October 29, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
Bihar’s caste plus politics
Parties across the political spectrum now prioritise governance and development in their campaigns over identity concerns
4 mins
October 29, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
Mediation clause can’t block urgent IPR suits, SC rules
When imitation masquerades as innovation, it sows confusion among consumers, taints the marketplace and diminishes faith in the sanctity of trade, the Supreme Court has underlined, ruling that courts cannot insist on pre-litigation mediation in intellectual property infringement cases where the injury is continuing and deception of the public is involved.
2 mins
October 29, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
INDIA INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT GROWS BY 4% IN SEP, DRIVEN BY MFG SECTOR
Industrial activity, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew at 4% in September. While technically a three-month low, the September IIP growth number is not very different from what it was in July and August at 4.3% and 4.1% respectively.
1 min
October 29, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
SC RAPS STATES FOR FAILING TO SUBMIT ABC REPORTS
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on states and Union territories (UTs) for failing to submit compliance reports from their animal husbandry departments and local bodies on the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, warning that top bureaucrats would face personal accountability for their inaction in controlling the stray dog menace while safeguarding human and animal welfare.
1 min
October 28, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
Quest for perfect electoral rolls
EC must guard against the SIR process leading to large-scale disenfranchisement
2 mins
October 28, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
Jaishankar, Rubio hold talks on Asean sidelines
External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Monday held talks with his US counterpart Marco Rubio amid efforts by the two sides to reset bilateral ties that have come under severe strain over punitive US tariffs on Indian goods.
1 min
October 28, 2025
Hindustan Times Rajasthan
EC announces phase two of SIR across 12 states, UTs
The Election Commission will conduct phase two of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and Union Territories, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday.
2 mins
October 28, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size