ED raids Cong Raj chief, sends notice to CM's son

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted a raid in the home of Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra in connection with an alleged paper leak case, and issued a notice to Vaibhav Gehlot, the son of chief minister Ashok Gehlot for alleged contraventions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in a separate case that dates back to September moves that sparked a political row in the state headed to the polls next month.

- Sachin Saini and Neeraj Chauhan

While the Congress alleged that the central agencies were acting at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was creating a "sense of terror in the country", the BJP retorted, saying that "if the Congress had nothing to hide, it should not be afraid of the raids".

Rajasthan goes to the ballot on November 25, with results to be declared, along with four other states, on December 3.

On Thursday morning, teams from ED fanned out at close to a dozen locations, including the official residence of Dotasra and Om Prakash Hudla, the Congress candidate from the Mahua assembly seat, investigating irregularities in the conduct of the Senior Teacher 2nd grade examinations held in 2022.

Hudla was parliamentary secretary in the Vasundhara Raje government between 2013 and 2018, but quit the BJP, fought as an independent after being denied a ticket, and won the election.

The Congress announced him as their candidate from Mahua, in Dausa district, for the upcoming polls.

The central agency has conducted several raids in the paper leaks case this year, the latest earlier this month, when it searched residential premises of seven people, and reportedly recovered incriminating documents, copies of sale deeds, electronic devices, and ₹24 lakh.

In September, ED arrested Babulal Katara, a member of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and Anil Kumar Meena under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and said that investigations revealed Katara orchestrated a leak of the question paper for the December 2022 exam.