ED Questions Robert Vadra For 6 Hours In Haryana Land Case, Summons Him Again Tomorrow
The ED summons Robert Vadra again in 2008 Haryana land deal case, which Vadra claims is 'political vendetta'. The case involves allegations of fraud, conspiracy, and forgery in the purchase and sale of land.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to businessman Robert Vadra again to appear on Wednesday in connection with a money laundering case linked to a 2008 land deal in Haryana. This comes after Vadra appeared on Tuesday before the ED and alleged that the action against him was part of a “political vendetta”.
Vadra’s statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for six hours. The 56-year-old, who is the brother-in-law of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, walked from his Sujan Singh Park residence to the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road, a distance of nearly two kilometres. Accompanied by his lawyer, Vadra entered the ED office at 11 am, while his security personnel waited outside.
Speaking to reporters en route to the ED office, Vadra said, “This is nothing but political vendetta. Whenever I speak for minorities, they try to stop me, crush us... They tried to stop Rahul (Gandhi) in Parliament too. This is misuse of agencies and this is political vendetta. I will cooperate with them like in the past.”
Vadra stepped out around 1:30 pm for lunch, reiterating his willingness to assist in the investigation, while seeking finality in the matter. “How can you be talking about something that happened in 2007?” he questioned.
According to sources, Vadra was initially summoned on April 8 but had requested a new date.
2008 Land Deal In Haryana Behind Money Laundering Case
The investigation is related to a land transaction in Gurugram’s Manesar-Shikohpur (now Sector 83), executed by Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd—a company where Vadra was once a director. In February 2008, Skylight bought a 3.5-acre plot in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for ₹7.5 crore rupees. At the time, Haryana was governed by a Congress-led government under then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
In September 2012, the company sold the 3.53-acre land to real estate giant DLF for ₹58 crore rupees. The deal came under scrutiny in October that year when IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then Director General of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the mutation, citing violations of the State Consolidation Act and other procedures.
The deal was later criticised by the opposition BJP in Haryana, which alleged corruption and nepotism due to Vadra’s association with the Gandhi family. In 2018, the Haryana Police registered an FIR to investigate the matter.
In December 2023, the agency filed a chargesheet against UAE-based NRI businessman C C Thampi and Sumit Chadha, a relative of UK-based arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. Both are alleged to have links with Vadra. The ED is examining the purchase of three plots in Haryana between 2005 and 2006 by Vadra, along with a separate land deal involving his wife, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
While neither Vadra nor Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been named as accused in the chargesheet, the ED stated that Thampi acquired nearly 486 acres of land in Amirpur village, Faridabad, through Delhi-NCR-based real estate agent H L Pahwa between 2005 and 2008.
According to the chargesheet, Vadra purchased three parcels of land measuring 334 kanals (approximately 40.08 acres) in Amirpur from Pahwa between 2005 and 2006 and sold them back to him in December 2010. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also bought 40 kanals (5 acres) of agricultural land in Amirpur in April 2006, which she sold back to Pahwa in February 2010.
The ED alleged that Pahwa was paid in unaccounted cash for acquiring the properties and further noted that Vadra did not pay the full consideration for the land. The investigation in this regard remains ongoing.
The case was initially registered in 2018 after Surendra Sharma, a resident of Tauru, filed a complaint at the Kherki Daula police station in Gurugram on 1 September that year. Sharma alleged that Vadra’s company, in collusion with other individuals, had defrauded him.
The matter also names former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and was filed under various sections related to fraud, conspiracy, and forgery. Additional sections were later added as the investigation progressed. The ED has been probing the case since 2019.
The complainant further claimed that Vadra’s company secured commercial licences after purchasing the land and then sold it to DLF at a hefty profit. Additionally, there are allegations that, in return, the Hooda-led government allotted 350 acres of land to DLF in Wazirabad, Gurugram.
Vadra has previously been questioned by the ED in two separate money laundering cases.
(With PTI Inputs)
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