Uttarakhand: Harak Singh Rawat’s troubles increase! ED attaches 101 bigha land worth Rs 70 crore of a close aide

Veteran Congress leader of Uttarakhand Harak Singh Rawat is once again seen getting into legal trouble. This time the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken a big action by reopening an old case related to him. ED has attached about 101 bighas of land located in Sahaspur area of Dehradun district.
ED has informed that this action has been taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002. The registered price of this attached land is Rs 6.56 crore, while its market price is said to be more than Rs 70 crore. This land was allegedly sold through fraudulent power of attorney by Birendra Singh Kandhari and Narendra Kumar Walia, close to former Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat.
According to the information, Doon Institute of Medical Science has been constructed on this land under the Purna Devi Memorial Trust, which is operated by Harak Singh Rawat’s son Tushit Rawat. According to the ED, in this case, there is an allegation of illegal sale of land to Harak Singh Rawat’s wife Deepti Rawat and her close aide Laxmi Rana.
Action was taken last year
In February 2024, the Enforcement Directorate raided 17 locations in Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi in this case. These included Harak Singh Rawat’s residence in Defense Colony in Dehradun, his son’s Doon Institute of Medical Sciences in Sahaspur and the locations of officials close to him.
History of controversies
This land has been in controversies earlier as well. Harak Singh Rawat had earlier described it as an act of political malice in this case and presented his side by presenting documents, but this time the ED has attached it under the allegations of irregularities in land purchase and money laundering.
Investigations are also going on in other cases related to Harak Singh Rawat, such as the Corbett Tiger Safari scam. The ED claims that they have got important documents related to the land deal, on the basis of which the allegations of money laundering are being strengthened.