Punjab ex-minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu’s aide Rajdeep Nagra arrested by ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials arrested Rajdeep Nagra, an arhtiya and aide of former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, on Thursday. Nagra was detained from his native Ikolahi village in Khanna (near Ludhiana) during an ongoing raid that began a day earlier.

Following his arrest, Nagra was taken to the ED office in Jalandhar, then to Jalandhar Civil Hospital for a medical examination, and later presented before the Special PMLA court. The court granted the ED his custody until September 9. Bharat Bhushan Ashu also appeared in the case via video conferencing from Kapurthala Modern Jail, where he has been lodged since August 13. The Special PMLA judge, Additional District and Sessions Judge Dharminder Paul Singla, extended Ashu’s judicial remand until September 19.

ED sources revealed that no cash was found at Nagra’s shop, office or residence. However, some incriminating evidence was recovered. Nagra has been associated with Ashu since his tenure as Food and Civil Supplies Minister. The ED has discovered a nexus involving Ashu, the dismissed Deputy Director of Food and Civil Supplies, RK Singla, and various department officials and contractors.

“There are evidences of money trail between them all. He has been arrested as he needs to be questioned on this entire network and to assess all forward and backward linkages in the trail,” an ED source said.

The ED’s case is based on a 1,556-page chargesheet filed against Ashu by the Vigilance Bureau, which booked him in September 2022.