ED raids former Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat in money laundering case

Dehradun: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches against Uttarakhand Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

The searches were carried out at multiple premises in Uttarakhand, including his residence in Dehradun, apart from Delhi and Haryana, they said.

Premises of Doon Institute of Medical Sciences and individuals identified as Virender Kandari and Narender K Walia were also covered, according to the sources.

Rawat, 63, had quit the BJP ahead of the 2022 Uttarakhand assembly polls and joined the Congress party.

The ED investigation is linked to two different cases and allegations against Rawat and his associates including "illegal" felling of trees and construction in the state's Corbett Tiger Reserve and "fraudulent" acquisition of land in Dehradun district for an educational institute run by a trust linked to the politician and his family.

The said land was acquired in a "fraudulent" manner by Rawat's wife Deepti Rawat and some others and the building for Doon Institute of Medical Sciences was constructed on it by Shrimati Poorna Devi Memorial Trust.

The Uttarakhand government's vigilance department had also raided Rawat last year in connection with the alleged tiger reserve "irregularities" during his tenure as the state forest minister in the previous BJP government.

Apart from the Congress and the BJP, Rawat has also been part of the BSP in the past.

He began his political career with the BJP in the undivided Uttar Pradesh, joined the BSP in 1996 and moved to the Congress after two years.

After a long stint of 18 years with the Congress, he rebelled against the previous Harish Rawat government to join the BJP in 2016.

He was expelled from the BJP in 2022 as he allegedly insisted on party tickets for himself and his daughter-in-law for the assembly polls.