ED questions Farooq Abdullah in case related to alleged fraud in JK Cricket Association

SRINAGAR | NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah on Monday in connection with the alleged siphoning off of funds given by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association, when he was its president.

Abdullah was questioned in Srinagar by ED sleuths at its Rajbagh office. The ED had quizzed him in July last year in Chandigarh. Abdullah’s statement will again be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“This questioning has been going on for many years. It is not a new thing…I am not going to say anything. It is not for me to decide. The court will decide,” the National Conference leader and Lok Sabha member from Srinagar told reporters outside the ED office.


“We have a long way to go. We have a long political battle…Our fight is for restoration of Article 370 and 35A…Our resolve will never change even if I have to be hanged,” Abdullah, who was questioned for several hours, said.

Abdullah has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the case previously. Earlier in the day, Abdullah’s son Omar Abdullah said in a Twitter post: “This is nothing less than political vendetta, coming days after the formation of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration…”

A spokesperson for the NC party said earlier that the “letter from the ED came after the Gupkar declaration. It is clear political vendetta after the People’s Alliance was formed in Kashmir”.

The signatories of the Gupkar Declaration, including PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and People’s Conference chairman Sajjad Lone, issued a joint statement condemning the ED summons and termed it “vindictive politics by the Central government aimed at killing dissent”.

“The central government…is resorting to a game of witch hunt and suppression. Dialogue with all stakeholders and restoration of special status remain the only option to address the deepening uncertainty in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh,” according to the joint statement.

Abdullah and three others were booked by CBI on September 21, 2015, on the orders of the J&K High Court, which had transferred the investigation of the case — registered on March 10, 2012, by the Srinagar Police — to the central agency.

ED had registered a money laundering case after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR and chargesheet filed in July last year.

The BCCI had given about `.112 crore to the J&K Cricket Association from the year 2002 to 2011as grant for the promotion of cricket in the state, of which it has been alleged that `. 43.69 crore was siphoned off and misappropriated by the accused.

Abdullah — the then president of the state cricket association — is also alleged to have connived with the treasurer of the JKCA and others in siphoning off funds and their misappropriation