In Lucknow, the Enforcement Directorate has beckoned Louise Khurshid, the spouse of Congress luminary Salman Khurshid, for an interrogation session regarding an ongoing money-laundering inquiry linked to the alleged misappropriation of governmental funds in the distribution of prosthetic limbs and apparatus by a trust presided over by her. This information surfaced from sources on a Saturday.

Scheduled to present her deposition at the ED’s zonal office in Lucknow on February 15, Louise Khurshid is mandated to articulate her perspective under the auspices of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Merely two days prior, a court designated for Members of Parliament (MP) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, issued an arrest warrant for Louise Khurshid and another implicated individual, designating February 16 as the ensuing hearing date.

Noteworthy is Salman Khurshid’s prior tenure as a Union minister in the UPA government. The money laundering conundrum being probed by the Enforcement Directorate emanates from a First Information Report (FIR) filed by state police in 2017. The Special Public Prosecutor, Achintya Dwivedi, expounded that during the fiscal year 2009-10, an initiative for dispensing prosthetic limbs and equipment unfolded, orchestrated by the Dr. Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust for Disabled Persons. This trust, helmed by Louise Khurshid in the Bhojipura precinct of the district, became the epicenter of the government’s scrutiny in light of allegations of discrepancies.

The investigation disclosed the misuse of government funds through the illicit application of counterfeit seals and forged signatures during the program. The trio at the core of the matter comprises Louise Khurshid, the project overseer of the trust, Pratyush Shukla (deceased for several years), and the trust’s secretary, Athar Farooqui. Sources intimate that the Enforcement Directorate has previously recorded statements from Shukla’s widow and others, and now solicits Louise Khurshid’s participation in the ongoing probe.

Legal proceedings were set in motion by the Uttar Pradesh Police, resulting in the filing of a charge sheet against both accused parties. Despite repeated summonses from the court, neither of the implicated individuals, including Louise Khurshid, appeared nor secured bail in the unfolding legal imbroglio.