Political Consultancy Under Fire: ED Probes I-PAC Co-Founder's Family

Barbie Jain and Pulkit Jain, relatives of I-PAC co-founder Pratik Jain, have been summoned by India's Enforcement Directorate for questioning linked to a money laundering case involving hawala transactions. The inquiry, associated with West Bengal's coal scam, has already seen the arrest of another I-PAC director.

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Barbie Jain and Pulkit Jain, relatives of Pratik Jain, co-founder of political consultancy I-PAC, in a money laundering probe related to alleged hawala transactions. This summons follows the arrest of another I-PAC director, Vinesh Chandel.

The investigation focuses on potential business links and is part of a wider inquiry tied to the coal scam case in West Bengal, raising questions amidst upcoming elections in the state. Pratik Jain himself is under the agency's scrutiny.

With a criminal case initiated on March 28, stemming from a Delhi Police FIR, Pratik Jain has contested the ED's summons in court, following a raid at his residence and I-PAC's Kolkata office in January.

(With inputs from agencies.)