Enforcement directorate summons top designers in Punjab politician probe

INDIA'S enforcement directorate has summoned top fashion designers Sabyasachi, Ritu Kumar and Manish Malhotra for questioning in connection with an investigation into money-laundering allegations against Sukhpal Singh Khaira, a Congress member of the legislative assembly (MLA) of the northern state of Punjab.

The MLA, who was earlier in the Aam Aadmi Party and has been a leader of the opposition party in the state assembly, is also facing a probe for alleged drug smuggling and involvement in a fake passport racket case. Sources said the three designers have been asked to appear before the directorate this week to answer queries over some financial transactions. One directorate official said that they information that Khaira paid the three designers huge money in cash in 2018-19.

When Indian daily The Indian Express contacted Khaira over the matter, he said he was not the right person to give an answer. He asked the newspaper to either approach the directorate or the designers. He said he bought dresses like lehengas worth Rs 3-4 lakh ($4,000-$5,000) for his daughter’s wedding and asked how big a case of money-laundering it was.

In 2016, Khaira’s daughter Simmer got married to Inderveer Singh Johal, the grandson of Punjab’s former chief minister Darbara Singh.

In March, the directorate raided 12 locations across Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi, including the premises of Inderveer Johal. Among the places that were raised were those linked to convicts in the 2015 Fazilka drug-smuggling case, one with which Khaira has been allegedly linked for money-laundering. The raids were also linked to a fake passport racket probe, for which the Delhi Police had registered an FIR.

In 2015, the Punjab Police had arrested nine people for allegedly being part of a gang that smuggled drugs across the India-Pakistan border. From them, the police claimed to have seized 1.8 kilograms of heroin, 24 gold biscuits, two weapons, 26 live cartridges and two Pakistani SIM cards.

A senior directorate official alleged that one of the kingpins of the drug syndicate was in the UK and Khaira was in connection with him.

Khaira, who had formed the Punjab Ekta Party, merged it with the Congress recently in the run-up to the assembly elections in Punjab next year.