New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate, India’s premier probe agency for money laundering, is studying the alleged multi-crore Uttar Pradesh rural health scam and may register cases against the accused, including Babu Singh Kushwaha whose membership of the BJP has been suspended.According to sources, the Enforcement Directorate has started going through the First Information Reports (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged largescale bungling in the Rs.10,000 crore National Rural Health Mission in Uttar Pradesh.
The directorate may register a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) or under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) if there has been any violation of the two laws, the sources said.
Kushwaha, a former Uttar Pradesh family welfare minister, has been named by the CBI as one of the accused in the alleged embezzlement.
He was sacked from the state’s ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) last November and joined the BJP last week ahead of the February elections in Uttar Pradesh.
His induction into the BJP drew widespread flak and also triggered a possible split in the party. On Saturday Kushwaha offered that his membership to the party be suspended till he is cleared of corruption charges, which was accepted.
The CBI is investigating the case and on Thursday searched at least 60 locations in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi including the offices and residences of Kushwaha and his aides.
IANS
