Farooq tells ED he is not in Srinagar, declines Tuesday appearance

Summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah has informed the agency he will not appear before it here on Tuesday as he is out of town, official sources said.

They said the Lok Sabha member from Srinagar has communicated it to the ED officials through ”an email and a letter”.

He was asked to depose at the ED office in Srinagar on Tuesday, but sources said he is currently in Jammu.

The 86-year-old politician was last called by the central agency in this case on January 11 but he did not appear then as well.

The ED investigation pertains to alleged financial irregularities at the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. The former chief minister was charge-sheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in this case in 2022.

The case relates to alleged siphoning off JKCA funds by transferring to various personal bank accounts of unrelated parties, including those of JKCA office-bearers, and by way of unexplained cash withdrawals from its bank accounts, the ED had said.

The agency’s case is based on a 2018 charge-sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the same accused.