Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law granted protection from arrest till February 16, Vadra cries political vendetta in interim bail plea

The Patiala House Court, on Saturday (February 2), granted interim bail to Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra in a money laundering case registered against him by the Enforcement Directorate. The court has given Vadra, the controversial businessman husband of Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, protection from arrest till February 16.

The interim bail was granted against a surety amount of Rs 1 lakh while Vadra has been told to be present in court on February 6 at 4 pm.

Vadra had moved the court, on Friday, seeking anticipatory bail in the money laundering case lodged by the ED. In his anticipatory bail application, Vadra has alleged that he is being subjected to false prosecution and that the case against him is the result of a “political witch hunt”.

The extant case relates to allegations of money laundering during the purchase of a London-based property –located at 12, Bryanston Square – worth 1.9 million British Pounds, which is allegedly owned by Vadra.

Earlier, the court had also granted anticipatory bail to his alleged aide Manoj Arora, the other accused in the money laundering case. Arora has been granted interim bail till February 6 and has informed the court that he is willing to cooperate with the investigation.

The fresh case against Vadra, who is already embroiled in a large number of financial scandals that are pending investigations by various probe agencies, comes days after his wife, Priyanka Gandhi, was named Congress general secretary in-charge of the party affairs in eastern Uttar Pradesh, marking her first formal foray into active politics. Priyanka’s new role, months ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, has been billed by political observers as a major boost for the Congress party’s campaign.

—India Legal Bureau