COURT EXTENDS VADRA'S INTERIM BAIL

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court Saturday extended the interim bail granted to Robert Vadra till March 2 in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) even as the agency claimed that he was not cooperating in the matter.

Special judge Arvind Kumar granted the relief to Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

The court also extended the protection from arrest granted to his close aide and a co-accused in the case, Manoj Arora, till the next date of hearing i.e. March 2.

The ED told the court that it needed to question Vadra in the case and opposed his anticipatory bail plea, saying that he was not cooperating in the case.

“Vadra is not cooperating and giving evasive replies,” Special Public Prosecutor D P Singh and advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for the ED, said.

The businessman, represented through senior advocate KTS Tulsi, however, denied the charge and said he was ready to come for questioning as and when called.

Singh told the court Vadra is accompanied by a ‘baraat’ (procession) wherever he goes, whether to the agency’s office or to the court.

“There are some people who always come with a ‘baraat’, Vadra is one of them,” Singh, said, adding that by ‘baraat’, he was referring to the media.