ED Arrests TMC Spokesperson Saket Gokhale In Money Laundering Case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale for allegedly misusing money raised through a crowdfunding campaign.

There seems to be no end to the troubles for Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale. Now, the Enforcement Directorate has placed Saket Gokhale under arrest in a money laundering case.

The case is connected to the alleged irregularities in the crowdfunding matter, in which he was arrested by the Gujarat Police. On December 30, Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch detained Saket Gokhale from Delhi in connection with an alleged abuse of money raised through crowdfunding.

Saket Gokhale has been remanded to ED custody till January 31 after arrest in the money laundering case.

He is charged under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 467 (forgery) of the Indian Penal Code. Gokhale allegedly gathered aver Rs 70 lakh from more than 1,700 people using a crowdfunding portal, 'our democracy', and used the money for personal purposes.

Saket Gokhale claimed that his detention by the Ahmedabad Police was wrongful and alleged that he was framed in the case because "he was battling against the establishment".

Gujarat Police detained the TMC leader thrice in December 2022. On December 6, he was detained by the Cyber Crime Branch for allegedly circulating false information about the expense of PM Modi's visit to Morbi town following a bridge collapse. On December 1, Gokhale tweeted a news clipping on information received allegedly through RTI that stated Modi's visit to Morbi cost 30 crore. Soon after being granted bail by an Ahmedabad court, the TMC leader was detained again on December 8 by Morbi police for the identical offence.

Earlier, the Meghalaya government filed a criminal defamation suit against TMC national spokesperson Saket Gokhale for making claims that a state-owned tourism firm misappropriated funds worth over Rs 630 crore. The Meghalaya government also referred to Saket Gokhale as a "habitual offender" with a history of making false allegations against public personalities and government officials.

Gokhale on December 4 had issued a statement, accusing the Meghalayan Age Limited had misappropriated over Rs 630 crore in the state.

(With inputs from PTI.)