Rahul, Sonia face charges in 'graft' case

NEW DELHI, Nov 30 (bdnews24.com): Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi have been booked on charges of criminal conspiracy in a fresh FIR in connection with the National Herald money laundering case, Indian media report.

Filed by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), and registered on Oct 3, the FIR names six individuals, including the two Gandhis, along with three companies-Associated Journals Limited (AJL), Young Indian, and Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd, according to Indian broadcaster NDTV.

The complaint forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) states that the accused were part of a plot to "fraudulently acquire" AJL, the publisher of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper.

Dotex Merchandise, a Kolkata-based shell entity, allegedly routed Rs 10 million to Young Indian.

Investigators claim the transfer enabled Young Indian, where Rahul and Sonia together held a 76 percent stake, to pay off a Congress loan of Rs 5 million and take control of AJL, whose assets are estimated at Rs 20 billion.