ED has ‘become part of election process’: Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar, Jan 11 (PTI) PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Thursday said the central investigation agencies are being used to harass the opposition leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, adding the Enforcement Directorate has “become a part of the election process”.

“Whenever there is a state election or parliamentary election, the ED starts summoning the opposition leaders. So, there is no surprise in it,” she told reporters after a medical check-up at a private hospital here.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said, who met with an accident in Anantnag district earlier in the day, was reacting to the summons issued to National Conference president Farooq Abdullah by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

“We dont know how many more leaders will be summoned. This is just a link in the chain of the upcoming elections. This is a means to harass the opposition parties, be it the ED, the NIA or the CBI,” she added.

The ED had summoned Abdullah for questioning on Thursday in connection with a money laundering case in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

The 86-year-old politician, who was called by the ED at its Srinagar office, however, did not appear before central agency.

The MP from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat was charge-sheeted by the ED in the JKCA case in 2022.

The case relates to siphoning off the funds of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association by way of transfer to various personal bank accounts of unrelated parties, including those of JKCA office bearers, and by way of unexplained cash withdrawals from JKCA bank accounts, the ED had said.

The agency’s case is based on a 2018 charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the same accused.