Rajasthan: ED Raids State Cong Chief Dotasra, Poll Candidate from Mahua in Exam Paper Leak Case

In back-to-back action, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra and party candidate from Mahua assembly seat, Omprakash Hudla, as part of a money laundering investigation into the alleged exam paper leak case in the poll-bound state. The central agency also summoned chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot in a foreign exchange violation case.

With the ED raids on Dotasra and Hudla, the number of party leaders facing different cases, who are also known to be close to the chief minister, goes up to at least 10. None has been arrested yet.

The searches linked to the paper leak case were carried out at 11 locations in Rajasthan, including Dotasra’s official residence in Jaipur along with some other places linked to him. The former school education minister is the party candidate from Lacchmangarh seat of Sikar against the BJP’s Subhash Maharia. He is also the sitting MLA from this seat.

Former RPSC member Babulal Katara and another person identified as Anil Kumar Meena were arrested in this case when the ED had first raided multiple locations in June. Chief minister Gehlot, in a post on microblogging platform X, confirmed the ED summons to Vaibhav and also slammed the BJP.

He said the agency’s raids in Rajasthan take place every day because the BJP does not want people in the state to get benefits of the guarantees promised by the Congress. Later, during a press conference, the CM called the ED action “gundagardi [hooliganism]”.

“…Gundagardi hai yeh [this is hooliganism]… Without pressure from the top neither ED nor CBI can come..,” he said.

Vaibhav has been asked to depose before the ED office either in Jaipur or New Delhi on Friday. The summons are linked to the recent ED raids against Rajasthan-based hospitality group Triton Hotels & Resorts Pvt Ltd, Vardha Enterprises Pvt Ltd and its directors and promoters Shiv Shankar Sharma, Rattan Kant Sharma and others. The agency had searched the group and its promoters for three days in August at locations in Jaipur, Udaipur, Mumbai and Delhi.

Rattan Kant’s alleged links with Vaibhav are under the scanner, and the ED is expected to question and record his statement under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Unaccounted cash of Rs 1.2 crore was seized after these searches.

Vaibhav addressed the reports of the ED summons to him and said:”I have received a summon… 12-13 years ago similar allegations were made and we had responded to them. Now again, ED has come. People of Rajasthan do understand why this is happening when model code of conduct is imposed in the state.”

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also reacted to the ED action and called central agencies like the ED, CBI and I-T, the “panna pramukh” of the BJP. “As soon as elections come, ED, CBI, IT etc. become the real ‘Panna Pramukh’ of BJP… Seeing its certain defeat in Rajasthan, Bharatiya Janata Party made its last move!” Kharge wrote on X.

“After Chhattisgarh, ED has also started action against Congress leaders entering the assembly election campaign in Rajasthan… We will continue to fight against the misuse of agencies, the public will give a befitting reply to the BJP,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)