ED conducts raids at multiple locations linked to Congress leader and former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat

Enforcement Directorate today conducted raids against Uttarakhand Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat in a money laundering case. Initial reports claimed that more than 10 locations in Uttarakhand and Delhi-NCR are being raided by the ED. The searches were carried out at multiple premises in Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Chandigarh. The ED investigation is understood to be linked to alleged illegal activities in the state’s Corbett Tiger Reserve.

Last year, the Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court held Harak Singh Rawat, former Uttarakhand forest minister, and the then divisional forest officer (DFO) Kishan Chand responsible for various illegal activities, including constructions in connection with a tiger safari in the Corbett Tiger Reserve. In its report submitted to the apex court on a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, the committee held Harak Singh Rawat and Chand guilty for construction activities in connection with the tiger safari and other illegal projects in the Pakhro and Morghatti forest areas. It had also given its green signal to the Uttarakhand vigilance department to continue with the legal proceedings against the forest officials involved in the irregularities.