Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Patiala House court on Thursday granted bail to I-PAC director and co-founder Vinesh Chandela in a money laundering case, following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.The court’s decision came after the ED filed its response to Chandela’s bail plea and did not oppose his release. During the previous hearing, the court had issued a notice to the agency seeking its stand on the application.Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Chandela, said, “We filed a regular bail application a few days ago, and the ED was supposed to file a reply. Yesterday, they filed their reply and raised no objection to the grant of bail, primarily on the grounds that he has cooperated with the investigating agency and has provided voluntary and purposeful cooperation. That is the language used by them. He has also provided the information and other data required during the investigation. The statement of the investigating officer was recorded, and no objection was raised.”Earlier, the court had dismissed Chandela’s interim bail plea, which was filed on the grounds of his mother’s illness, and had listed his regular bail application for further consideration.Chandela was arrested earlier this month after the ED conducted searches at multiple locations in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai as part of its probe into a money laundering case linked to an alleged coal scam in West Bengal.The investigation pertains to financial dealings involving political consultancy firm I-PAC, which has worked with parties including the Trinamool Congress and DMK.Officials are also examining transactions linked to Vijay Nair, with sources indicating that certain payments made to the consultancy firm are under scrutiny as part of the broader probe.
