ED summons mother of former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday once again summoned Gulshan Ara, mother of the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti for questioning in a money laundering case.

Gulshan Ara, wife of late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the former Union Home Minister, has been asked to appear before the central probe agency at its office in Srinagar on August 18 at 11 am.

The ED summon said that it was making an investigation under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (15 of 2003) and the attendance of Gulshan Ara was necessary in connection with the said investigation.

Earlier, she was summoned by the ED in the same case on April 9 and July 14. However, on both the occasions, Gulshan Ara didn’t appear after the investigating agency failed to respond to her letter that sought details of the case for which she was to be questioned.

The case filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is linked to the recovery of at least two diaries by the ED, after raids on an associate of Mehbooba, in which some purported payments made from then chief minister’s discretionary fund were made in alleged contravention of rules.

These funds are alleged to have been diverted during the tenure of Mehbooba as the CM of the erstwhile state.

After her five-hour-long questioning on March 25, Mehbooba had told reporters that central agencies like the NIA, CBI and the ED were being “misused” to silence the opposition.

The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of J&K police had also rejected the passport applications of Gulshan Ara and Mehbooba following ‘adverse police reports’ against the mother and the daughter.