Punjab: ED arrests 'close aide' of Cong leader Ashu in tender case

Rajdeep Singh Nagra, an alleged close aide of Punjab Congress leader and former Punjab minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a tender ''scam'' linked money laundering case, official sources said Thursday.

Nagra was taken into custody on Wednesday night following day-long searches at four of his business and residential premises in the state, including in Khanna district, the sources said.

Ashu, 53, was arrested by the federal agency in this case on August 1.

He is a former minister of consumer affairs, food and civil supplies of Punjab and a working president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. He represented Ludhiana (West) in the state Assembly.

The money-laundering investigation stems from a Punjab Vigilance Bureau FIR in connection with a tender ''scam'' in the Punjab department of food.

The politician was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in this case in August 2022.

A year later in August 2023, the ED raided the premises of Ashu, Raman Balasubramanium, a former chairman of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust, and some others.

The ED, after Ashu's arrest, had alleged that the former minister laundered the ''proceeds of crime'' through several shell entities and purchased properties in his name and name of his family members.

The Congress had condemned Ashu's arrest, saying it was ''vendetta'' politics.

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