ED quizzes Cong MP Patel for fourth time
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel for the fourth time in connection with its multi-crore money laundering probe involving Gujarat-based firm Sterling Biotech and its promoters, Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara.
A team of ED officials reached Patel’s home in the Lutyens’ zone of central Delhi at around 11 a.m on Thursday. He was questioned for several hours. Patel (70) was last questioned in connection with the case on July 2 for about 10 hours. He had told reporters that the ED investigators had posed 128 questions to him over three sessions.
Immediately after questioning on Thursday, he told media persons: “My friends from the ED visited me today. In the last four days, I have been asked 152 questions. I don’t think there’s anything else left to ask.”
He is being questioned about his purported links with Sterling Biotech promoters, the Sandesara brothers, and alleged dealings of his family members with them. The agency, last year, had questioned Mr Patel’s son Faisal and son-in-law Irfan Siddiqui in this case. The two were questioned in context with the statement of one Sunil Yadav, an employee of the Sandesara group, who earlier recorded his statement before the agency.
Patel was allowed questioning at home by the agency after the Rajya Sabha MP had refused to visit the ED office citing prevailing Covid-19 guidelines that discourage senior citizens from going out.