ED summons Ekka, panel to probe links

Ranchi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has issued a summons to former home secretary Rajiv Arun Ekka, now posted in the panchayati raj department, for his questioning in the ongoing money laundering probe on Wednesday. ED sources on Tuesday night said Ekka has requested the agency to call him after March 24, when the ongoing budget session of the state assembly is scheduled to end.The ED issued the summons to Ekka on Monday night. Around the same time, the state government also announced a one-member judicial commission to conduct a probe against Ekka and submit its report within six months.Ekka, who was the chief minister’s principal secretary, has been shifted to the panchayat raj department after BJP released a purported video showing him dealing files from the office of Vishal Chaudhary, a money laundering suspect under the ED radar. The saffron party demanded that an FIR should be lodged against Ekka for violation of the Official Secrets Act, his suspension, and a CBI probe. BJP also appealed to governor C P Radhakrishnan to intervene in the matter.Sources said the summons was issued in connection with the MGNREGA scam and money laundering case. During the raid conducted at the residence of Vishal Chaudhary at Ashok Nagar in Ranchi on May 24 last year, the ED had found documentary evidence of Ekka’s ties with Chaudhary.Meanwhile, the one-man commission will be led by the former Chief Justice of the high court, Vinod Kumar Gupta. In a notification, the personnel, administrative reforms and state language department said the commission would complete the inquiry within six months and submit its conclusions, findings and recommendations to the government.