National Herald Case: ED sealed Office of 'Young Indian', pasted notice

In the National Herald case, the Enforcement Directorate sealed the office of Young Indian in the Herald House building in Delhi as no one was available in the office during the search and hence they could not complete the search. The order states that the premises will not be opened without prior permission from the agency.

New Delhi: In the National Herald case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sealed the office of Young Indian in the Herald House building in Delhi as no one was available in the office during the search and hence they could not complete the search. The order stated that "the premises shall not be opened without prior permission from the agency."

The probe agency said the office has been temporarily sealed to "preserve the evidence", which could not be collected during Tuesday's raid due to absence of authorized representatives. The rest of the National Herald's office is open for use, sources said.

Officials said the ED has pasted a notice outside the office of Young Indian, which has the signature of the investigating officer. It is written in the notice that this office cannot be opened without the permission of the agency. Officials said that the ED team had sent an e-mail to the principal officer/in-charge of the office to open the premises for raids, but the reply is still awaited.

The National Herald newspaper is published by Associated Journal Limited (AJL) and Young Indian holds a stake in this company. National Herald is registered in the name of AJL. Earlier on Tuesday, the ED conducted raids at at least a dozen places in Delhi and other places in connection with the alleged National Herald money laundering case. The 'Herald House' office located on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg was also raided. This address is registered in the name of Associated Journals Limited which publishes the National Herald newspaper.

Several rounds of interrogation of Sonia-Rahul Gandhi in National Herald case

Let us tell you that in the National Herald case, the ED has questioned Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for several rounds. For which the Congress had expressed strong opposition and protested. During the interrogation of Sonia Gandhi, many Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi were taken into custody by the police.

Sonia Gandhi was first questioned for more than 2 hours in this case on July 21. Then he answered 28 questions of the agency. The ED is probing alleged financial irregularities in Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald, a newspaper promoted by Congress. At the same time, the ED held several rounds of talks with Rahul Gandhi in this case and answered questions for several hours.

The Congress has condemned the Enforcement Directorate's action against its top leadership and termed it as a move of political vendetta by the Modi government.