ED sees no direct connect between alleged hawala dealer Afroz Fatta Fatta & Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Congress’ assertion of a relationship between the BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi and alleged hawala dealer Afroz Fatta notwithstanding, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not detected any such direct or indirect link, officials familiar with the matter said.

Although the ED has not issued any official statement in this regard, officials said on the condition of anonymity that no proof has emerged so far to link Fatta to Modi.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Tuesday relied on the ED’s unofficial version to trash Congress’ charge. “The ED is under the central government and it has said that there is no connection between Fatta and Modi. Fatta was part of a delegation which had come to meet Modi. So, how can Modi be liable for the crime committed by Fatta?” Jaitley asked at a press conference in Amritsar and called it a “desperate tactic” of the Congress.

The Congress had on Monday released photographs of Fatta alongside Modi at certain functions and questioned Modi’s relationship with the alleged dealer who was arrested on March 21 by the ED in a Rs 1,000-crore hawala racket. “Fatta is a well-known BJP supporter and a protege of Modi,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had said.

In response to the Congress, BJP legislator Harsh R Sanghavi had on Monday brought out a picture showing Fatta with cricketer turned Congress member Azharuddin and wrote on Twitter: “Afroz Phatta (sic) with Congressi Leader @azhrudeen will Congress answer what's there connection with him?” His tweet and picture was re-tweeted by the official twitter handle of BJP leader Amit Shah but deleted soon thereafter.

The ED, in its ongoing probe against Fatta, is believed to have frozen several bank accounts and demat accounts of Fatta in Surat and Mumbai, and will soon freeze the accounts of many of his companies, which include a brokerage firm in Surat.